UC-NRLF 


B    M    113    SSM 


•  VOICE 
BUILDING 
ANfiTONE 

IMAGING: 


.HOLBROOK    CURTIS 


MOOOOO 


MEDICAL 


Dr.   Henry  Horn 
Llemorial 


J 


Facsimile  of  a  photograph  of  the  vocal  cords 
of  a  distinguished  singer,  taken  by  means  of  the 
improved  apparatus  of  S.  W.  Bridgham,  Esq. 


VOICE    BUILDING 
AND  TONE    PLACING 


SHOWING  A  NEW  METHOD  OF 

RELIEVING  INJURED   VOCAL   CORDS 

BY  TONE  EXERCISES 


BY   c 

H.   HOLBROOK   CURTIS,   Pn.B.,   M.D. 

FELLOW  OF  THE  NEW  YORK    ACADEMY  OF  MEDICINE  ;    MEMBER   OF  THE  COUNTY 

MEDICAL  SOCIETY;  MEMBER  OF  THE  AMERICAN  MEDICAL  ASSOCIATION; 

FELLOW  OF  THE  AMERICAN  LARYNGOLOGICAL,  RHINOLOGICAL, 

AND  OTO LOGICAL  SOCIETY  ; 

MEMBRE   CORRESPONDANT   DE   LA   SOCIETE    FRAN9AISE   D'OTOLOGIE   DE   LARYN- 

GOLOGIE  ET  DE  RHINOLOGIE;    MEMBER  OF  THE  BRITISH  LARYNGOLOGICAL, 

RHINOLOGICAL,    AND   OTOLOGICAL   ASSOCIATION;    MEMBER    OF   THE 

ROYAL   MEDICAL   SOCIETY,    ENGLAND,    ETC. 


THIRD  EDITION 


NEW  YORK  AND   LONDON 

D.    APPLETON    AND    COMPANY 

1914 


COPYRIGHT,  1896,  1909,  BY 
D.  APPLETON  AND  COMPANY 


Printed  in  the  United  States  of  America 


TO    MY    FRIEND 

JEAN   DE   RESZKE 

THIS   LITTLE   VOLUME   IS   DEDICATED 

IX   TOKEN  OF 
THE   AFFECTION   AND    ESTEEM 

4 

OF   THE    AUTHOR. 


PEEFACE. 


THE  tangled  skein  of  theories  which  one  must 
unravel  in  order  to  arrive  at  any  simple  conclusion 
in  regard  to  the  singing  voice,  makes  our  endeavour 
in  the  present  volume  an  arduous  one.  We  have 
tried  to  cling  as  closely  as  possible  to  facts,  and 
make  our  subject  scientifically  satisfactory  by  the 
introduction  of  such  of  the  elementary  laws  of 
sound  and  music,  the  thorough  comprehension  of 
which  will  enable  the  student  to  understand  the 
conclusions  deduced  in  our  argument  as  to  the 
proper  production  of  tone.  The  chapters  on  anat- 
omy and  respiration  are  intended  to  be  of  value  to 
the  physician  as  well  as  to  the  student  of  singing, 
and  for  this  reason  also,  the  subject  of  the  vibra- 
tion of  the  vocal  cords  has  been  entered  into  in 
a  way  not  treated  of  in  any  other  work.  The 
author  has  for  a  long  time  been  convinced  of  the 
manv  fallacies  which  have  obtained  in  the  theories 
as  to  the  so-called  ''registers'7  of  the  human  voice, 


vi  VOICE  BUILDING. 

and  the  absurdities  of  the  deductions  as  to  the  man- 
ner of  vibration  of  the  vocal  cords,  made  from  photo- 
graphs taken  during  tone  production.  The  writer's 
theory,  that  the  overtones  introduced  by  the  proper 
method  of  placing  tones  in  the  facial  resonators  in- 
duce a  new  plan  of  vibration  of  the  vocal  cords, 
has  been  verified  by  the  recent  investigation  with 
the  stroboscope  by  Professor  Oertel,  of  Munich. 
We  have  introduced  several  of  his  experiments  to 
explain  the  true  plan  of  vibration  of  the  cords  as 
seen  in  the  stroboscope,  and  have  tried  to  elucidate 
our  theory  as  to  the  removal  of  singers'  "  nodules  " 
by  tone  exercises,  in  a  scientific  way.  We  would 
have  been  unable  to  do  this,  except  upon  theory, 
had  it  not  been  for  his  experiments.  The  manner 
of  vibration  and  the  formation  of  nodes  and  seg- 
ments in  the  cords  have  been  most  carefully  studied 
by  Oertel  as  well  as  by  Koschlakoff,  Simanowski, 
and  Imbert,  but  none  of  these  investigators  is  evi- 
dently aware  of  the  practical  application  of  their 
discoveries.  For  several  years  many  of  our  most 
renowned  singers  have  been  convinced  of  the  effi- 
cacy of  our  method  of  tone  exercises  in  overcoming 
serious  affections  of  the  vocal  cords,  and  we  trust 
that  a  perusal  of  this  work  will  amply  repay  every 
laryngologist  who  will  take  the  time  and  trouble  to 
verify  our  assertions.  We  have  included  some  of 


PREFACE.  vii 

the  simplest  exercises  for  the  restitution  of  cords 
injured  by  improper  vocal  method,  which  may  be 
employed  by  the  teacher  as  well  as  the  physician. 
The  general  scheme  of  the  building  of  the  voice,  on 
the  lines  of  our  theory  of  tone  placing,  is  appended 
for  the  benefit  of  teachers  and  students,  in  the  hope 
that  some  one  may  receive  aid  from  a  method  which, 
if  not  elaborate,  is  certainly  beneficial  in  furnishing  a 
fundamental  principle  of  correct  tone  placing  to  the 
serious  student.  This  book  is  the  result  of  a  vast 
experience  with  singers.  The  ideas  have  been  put 
together  in  a  concise  and  simple  way,  without  any 
attempt  at  elaboration  or  style.  It  is  indeed  pleas- 
ing to  find  that,  in  the  space  of  twelve  years  which 
has  elapsed  since  our  first  edition,  so  many  of  the 
principles  of  Tone  Placing  and  Eespiration,  as  first 
demonstrated  in  this  little  volume,  have  been  recog- 
nized as  scientific  truths  and  accepted  as  axioms  of 
successful  teaching.  To  Madame  Melba  I  am  in- 
debted for  her  generous  aid  in  the  chapter  on  voice 
building.  To  the  members  of  the  Metropolitan  and 
other  Opera  Companies,  who  have  honoured  me  with 
their  confidence,  and  given  me  great  assistance  in 
my  search  for  the  truth,  I  am  profoundly  grateful. 

H.  HOLBROOK  CURTIS. 

118  MADISON  AVENUE,  NEW  YORK, 
January  1,  1909. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTTB 

I. — THE  ORIGIN  OF  MUSIC 1 

II. — THE  ANATOMY  AND  PHYSIOLOGY  OP  THE  LARYNX  15 

m. — RESPIRATION 46 

IV. — THE  VOCAL  RESONATORS 70 

V.— TONE  AND  OVERTONES 78 

VI. — THE  REGISTERS   OP  THE  HUMAN  VOICE          .          .  109 

VII.— TONE  PLACING 137 

Vm.— VOICE  BUILDING 165 

IX.— VOICE  FIGURES     .......  217 

X.— THE  TONOGRAPH .  233 

INDEX                                        ....  239 


LIST   OF  ILLUSTBATIONS. 


FIGURE  PAGE 

1.  Arytenoid  cartilages  seen  from  behind ....  18 

2.  Side  view  of  the  vocal  cord  with  the  arytenoid  car- 

tilage         18 

3.  Showing  the  intrinsic  muscles  of  the  larynx,  seen  from 

above.    (Gray.) 21 

4.  Action  of  crico-thyroid  muscles  in  tensing  the  vocal 

cords 25 

5.  Showing  crico-thyroid  muscles  and  relation  of  trachea 

to  cartilages  of  larynx 26 

6.  Showing  action  of  thyro-arytenoid  muscle    ...  29 

7.  Transverse  arytenoid  muscle 32 

8.  Showing  action  of  transverse  arytenoid  muscle  in  ap- 

proximating cartilages 33 

9.  Form  given  to  the  glottis  by  the  posterior  crico-aryte- 

noid  muscles 34 

10.  Fixed  high  chest  or  modified  inferior  costal  respi- 

ration        65 

11.  Visible  vibration  of  strings.     (Tyndall.)        ...  79 

12.  Visible  vibration  of  strings.     (Tyndall.)        ...  80 

13.  Reflected  sound.     (Tyndall.) 81 

14.  Segmental  vibration  of  strings.     (Tyndall.)  ...  84 

15.  Visible  vibration  of  strings.     (Tyndall.)        ...  85 
16-19.  Organ  pipes 87 

20.  Vibration  of  air  in  pipes.    (Tyndall.)    ....  88 

21.  The  siren.    (Tyndall.) 92 

22.  Helmholtz  resonators.     (Tyndall.)         ....  96 

23.  Savart'sbell 98 

24.  KQnig's  apparatus  for  producing  manometric  flames. 

(Blaserna.)       . 102 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS.  xi 

FIGURE  PAGE 

25.  Showing  regularity  of  rise  and  fall  of  flame         .        .  104 

26-27.  Vowel  flames.     (Tyiidall.) 105 

28.  Konig's  apparatus  for  analyzing  overtones.  (Blaserna.)  106 

29.  Image  of  overtones  in  revolving  mirror.     (Konig.)       .  108 

30.  Oertel's  stroboscope 119 

31.  Oertel's  stroboscope 120 

32.  Sectional  vibration  of  membranes 126 

33.  Transverse  section  of  vibrating  (rubber)  membrane. 

(Irabert.) .128 

34.  Damping  a  vibrating  membrane,  and  showing  influ- 

ence on  pitch.     (Imbert.) 129 

35.  Artificial  larynx  with  rubber  membranes      .        .        .  131 

36.  Vibration  of  the  vocal  cords  in  the  chest  register  in 

transverse  section 132 

37.  Vibration  of  the  vocal  cords  in  the  upper  register  in 

transverse  section 133 

38.  Vocal  cords,  overstrained  from  coup  de  glotte       .        .  144 

39.  Singer's  nodules,  single  variety 144 

40.  Xodules  of  attrition  showing  double  glottis .        .        .  145 

41.  Insufficient  tension  of  vocal  cords,  causing  breathiness 

of  tone 145 

42.  The  same  condition   as  in  foregoing  plate,  showing 

faulty  adjustment  of  the  thyro-arytenoid  muscles .  145 

43.  The  compass  of  the  human  voice 165 

44-45.  Vibration  of  plates,  nodal  lines         ....  196 

46.  Kaleidophone  scrolls 197 

47.  Shadow  of  vibrating  rod 198 

48.  Luminous  scrolls  of  vibrating  rods.     (Wheatstone.)      .  199 
49-50.  Vibrations  of  a  bell  glass 200 

51.  Visible  vibration  of  a  board 201 

52.  The  eidophone 201 

53.  Seaweed  or  landscape  form  of  voice  picture  .        .        .  202 

54.  Daisy  form  of  voice  picture 203 

55.  Pansy  form  of  voice  picture 204 

56.  Fern  form  of  voice  picture 205 

57.  Serpent  form  of  voice  picture 206 

58.  Cross-vibration  figure  of  voice  picture  ....  208 

59.  Tree  form  of  voice  picture 209 


xii  VOICE  BUILDING. 

THE  TONOGRAPH. 

FIGURE  PAGE 

60.  c"  on  the  staff 234 

61.  c'"  above  the  staff,  sung  by  a  coloratura  soprano        .  234 

62.  c'"  above  the  staff,  sung  by  a  dramatic  soprano .        .  234 

63.  e"  on  the  staff 234 

64.  g"  above  the  staff 235 

65.  d'"  above  the  staff 235 

66.  b' 235 

67.  a' on  the  staff 235 

68.  a"  above  the  staff 235 

69.  f  "ft  on  the  staff 235 

70.  Miss  Geraldine  Farrar  singing  in  the  bell-jar  tono- 

graph 236 

71.  Sig.  Caruso  singing  in  the  tonograph  ....  237 


VOICE   BUILDING 
AND   TONE   PLACING. 


CHAPTEE  I. 

THE   ORIGIN   OF   MUSIC. 

Music  did  not  develop  into  an  independent  art 
among  the  cultured  races  of  Asia,  Africa,  and  the 
adjacent  peoples  of  Europe,  in  either  the  classical  or 
preclassical  epochs.  Among  the  Chinese,  Hindoos, 
Egyptians,  and  Jews,  the  Greeks  and  the  Romans, 
it  was  closely  associated  with  poetry,  the  drama,  and 
the  dance.  The  Greek  tribes  of  the  Peloponnesus 
and  Hellas,  the  Egyptians,  Phoenicians,  the  Greeks 
inhabiting  the  isles  of  the  ^Egean  Sea,  and  more  es- 
pecially those  in  the  Island  of  Cyprus — all  had  a 
primitive  "  Lament,"  which  came  originally  from 
Phoenicia.*  This  was  a  funeral  chant  celebrating 
the  death  of  the  youthful  Adonis,  who  symbolized 
the  beautiful  but  short-lived  spring.  The  Egyptians 

*  Neumann,  History  of  Music.     Translated  by  T.   Praeger. 
London,  Cassell  &  Co. 

1 


2  VOICE  BUILDING. 

changed  the  significance  of  this  chant,  transforming 
it  into  a  lament  of  their  own  goddess  Isis  bewailing 
the  death  of  Osiris.  This  "  Lament "  became  the 
"  Linos  "  of  the  Greeks  and  the  "  Maneros  "  of  the 
Egyptians ;  but,  wherever  it  was  found  on  the  shores 
of  the  Mediterranean,  it  had  the  character  of  a 
plaintive  wail  at  the  mortality  and  frailty  of  all 
earthly  things.  Music,  however,  lent  its  voice  to  the 
expression  of  joy  as  well  as  of  grief,  and  became  the 
means  of  expressing  a  common  sentiment,  as  in  the 
war  songs  of  the  people  or  the  emotional  appeals  to 
ancient  deities  and  idols.  It  is  a  commonly  accepted 
belief  that  war  songs,  to  the  rhythmic  beating  of 
drums,  were  the  earliest  form  of  music. 

The  actual  stage  of  development  which  music 
reached  among  the  ancients  can  only  be  determined 
by  a  study  of  those  specimens  of  their  musical  in- 
struments which  still  remain,  the  representations  of 
them  found  upon  tombs  and  monuments,  and  of  cer- 
tain obscure  records.  The  number  of  each  of  these 
is  unhappily  limited,  but  from  them  we  have  been 
able  to  obtain  a  fairly  satisfactory  idea  of  their  mus- 
ical knowledge.  Especially  is  this  the  case  with  the 
Egyptians,  whose  monuments  show  musical  hiero- 
glyphs dating  back  to  the  fifteenth  dynasty. 

Among  the  Chinese,  as  among  all  other  nations, 
music  owed  its  origin  to  religion.  The  Chinese, 


THE  ORIGIN  OF  MUSIC.  3 

however,  never  made  any  marked  progress  in  their 
instruments  or  vocal  art,  and  their  preference  to-day 
for  instruments  of  percussion  is  an  evidence  of  their 
low  musical  organization.  As  they  are  the  only 
people  who  thousands  of  years  ago  possessed  a  system 
of  octaves,  a  circle  of  fifths  and  a  normal  tone,  and 
once  had  an  elaborate  theory  of  music,  we  must  con- 
clude that  the  Chinese  have  retrograded  in  their 
musical  ideas  instead  of  advancing. 

The  Japanese  took  their  music  from  the  Chinese, 
and,  curiously  enough,  it  has  until  very  recently  re- 
mained below  the  Chinese  standard  rather  than  risen 
above  it.  Their  barbarism  in  music  shows  itself,  as 
with  the  Chinese,  in  the  number  of  drums,  clappers, 
and  bells  used  by  them. 

The  Hindoos  claimed  for  their  music  a  derivation 
direct  from  the  gods.  Their  ideas  on  the  subject 
were  most  fanciful  and  exaggerated,  but  the  art  of 
music  under  them  was  carried  to  a  far  greater  state 
of  development  than  among  other  nations.  They 
invented  the  Vina,  a  seven-stringed  instrument  of 
very  beautiful  tone,  sometimes  described  in  ancient 
writings  as  the  most  charming  of  all  musical  instru- 
ments, but  in  reality  inferior  to  the  Japanese  koto. 

The  ancient  Israelites,  with  their  refined  sensibil- 
ity and  poetic  temperament,  naturally  possessed  ex- 
alted ideas  about  music,  connecting  it  inseparably 


4  VOICE  BUILDING. 

with  religion.  They  addressed  the  Almighty  in 
hymns  of  praise  and  in  penitential  psalms,  and  as 
their  religion  was  nobler  than  that  of  any  other 
people,  their  music  naturally  sought  higher  planes 
for  expression.  Moses  is  believed  to  have  acquired 
a  knowledge  of  music  as  practised  by  Egyptian 
priests,  for  he  gave  directions  for  the  construction 
of  two  silver  trumpets,  used  in  giving  signals  to  the 
children  of  Israel  during  the  forty  years'  sojourn  in 
the  desert.  On  the  Arch  of  Titus  in  Eome  is  a  bas- 
relief  of  one  of  these  trumpets,  and  it  is  claimed 
that  the  trumpets  themselves  were  paraded  through 
Kome  after  the  destruction  of  the  Temple  of  Jeru- 
salem. The  shofar,  a  trumpet  of  different  shape,  is 
found  in  every  Jewish  synagogue  to-day. 

Miriam's  song  of  triumph  after  the  destruction 
of  Pharaoh  and  his  hosts  was  the  first  musical  out- 
burst of  the  Israelites,  and  was  probably  regarded 
as  of  divine  inspiration.  In  the  time  of  David,  an 
immortal  poet  and  musical  genius,  sacred  music 
attained  its  highest  point,  and  there  can  be  no  doubt 
that  in  the  reign  of  Solomon,  like  all  the  other  arts, 
it  reached  a  high  state  of  development.  The  psalms 
were  sung  by  the  Israelites  in  various  ways,  antiph- 
onally  by  the  priests  and  congregations,  and  by 
divided  choruses,  arranged  and  led  by  a  precentor. 
Of  the  tonal  system  of  the  Israelites,  and  the  struc- 


THE  ORIGIN  OF  MUSIC.  5 

ture  of  their  scales,  little  is  known.  Keller,*  how- 
ever, states  that  in  1890  a  number  of  flutes  were 
found  in  a  grave,  dating  certainly  before  3000  B.  c., 
which,  from  their  construction,  give  abundant  proof 
that  the  Egyptians  used  our  diatonic  scale.  Whether 
this  be  true  or  not,  they  certainly  had  harps  with  as 
high  as  twenty  strings,  and  they  seemed  to  have 
understood  the  harmony  of  voices,  and  of  instru- 
ments and  voices.  Moreover,  in  the  accompaniment 
of  penitential  songs  they  employed  trumpets,  drums, 
shofars,  and  timbrels.  The  "  Maneros,"  or  popular 
songs  and  general  choruses,  were  sung  on  occasions 
of  processions  and  religious  festivals. 

The  Greeks,  in  their  theory  of  music  and  in 
their  melody  and  rhythm,  adopted  Egyptian,  Lyd- 
ian,  and  Phoenician  traditions.  Their  innate  sense 
of  beauty  and  proportion  saved  them  from  those 
barbarisms  which  had  marred  the  work  of  earlier 
nations.  Music  among  them  assumed  a  dignity 
and  importance  in  its  relation  to  the  state  un- 
dreamed of  in  earlier  times.  It  became  a  factor  in 
the  education  of  the  individual.  It  grew  to  be  a 
part  of  the  daily  life  of  the  people,  though  never  as 
a  self-sustaining  art  distinct  from  that  which  it 
accompanied.  It  was  regarded  as  a  strong  incen- 


Keller,  Geschichte  der  Music,  Leipsic,  1893. 
2 


6  VOICE  BUILDING. 

tive  to  virtue.  It  had  a  place  in  devotional  exer- 
cises and  in  the  public  games,  and  was  considered 
an  essential  accessory  to  that  classical  drama  of 
Athens  which  was  always  produced  with  imposing 
surroundings,  and  which  in  its  pure  intellectuality 
has  never  been  surpassed.  The  instrumental  ac- 
companiment to  it  was  probably  made  up  of  flutes 
and  citharas.  The  music  was  sung  in  unison,  careful 
attention  being  bestowed  upon  the  rhythm. 

Nothing  in  the  theoretical  works  of  the  Greek 
writers  indicates  that  their  knowledge  of  music  in- 
cluded that  of  harmony,  although  the  use  of  the 
octave,  the  fifth,  and  the  fourth  were  common 
among  them,  and,  indeed,  their  tonal  art  was  prob- 
ably but  the  handmaid  of  Poetry.  The  modern 
composer  manipulates  the  metres  and  syllables  ac- 
cording to  the  music,  whereas  the  Greek  maestro 
shaped  the  melody  to  the  words. 

Burney,  in  his  history  of  music,  remarks  that, 
passionately  fond  as  the  Greeks  were  of  all  kinds 
of  music,  there  is  nothing  in  their  extant  treatises 
on  the  art,  or  in  the  fragments  of  their  melodies 
which  are  preserved,  to  indicate  that  they  had  at- 
tained such  efficiency  in  composition  as  would  make 
their  performances  agreeable  to  modern  ears.  How 
far  this  statement  may  be  modified,  in  view  of  the 
beautiful  choral  ode  to  Apollo,  discovered  a  year 


TIII-:  ORIGIN  OF  MUSIC.  7 

ago  at  Delphi,  and  performed  in  Athens  and  Lon- 
don, to  the  intense  delight  of  a  critical  audience, 
remains  to  be  seen. 

That  so  cultured  a  people  as  the  Greeks  should 
not  have  developed  the  principles  of  harmony, 
might  excite  a  certain  wonder,  until  one  remem- 
bers that  the  severest  simplicity  characterized  their 
art,  which  was  preserved  in  its  purity  to  the  end. 
When  singers  began  to  embellish  their  tunes  we 
find  Aristophanes,  in  his  comedy  The  Clouds,  com- 
ing down  upon  them  thus  : 

"  Had  any  one   for  sport   essayed  such  shakes  and    trills  to 

practise, 
Like  Phrynis  has  now  introduced,  neck-breaking  skip  and 

flourish, 
Of  stripes  he'd  had  a  measure  full,  for  holy  art  corrupting." 

Plato  maintained  that  that  music  only  which 
ennobled  the  mind  should  be  tolerated,  and  that  it 
was  the  duty  of  the  lawgivers  to  suppress  that 
which  possessed  merely  sensual  qualities.  And  so 
as  music  was,  in  a  sense,  a  recognised  factor  in  the 
preservation  of  public  virtue,  the  jealous  care  with 
which  its  integrity  was  guarded  closed  the  only 
avenue  to  its  true  and  perfect  development.  That 
work  was  left  to  a  later  civilization.  The  Athen- 
ian youth  in  the  meantime  were  instructed  in 
both  the  art  of  singing  and  of  playing  on  instru- 


8  VOICE  BUILDING. 

ments,  such  accomplishments  being  considered  es- 
sential for  an  entree  into  the  cultured  society  of 
Athens.  Yocal  songs  called  "  Orthian,"  written 
only  on  the  highest  notes,  and  which  had  to  be 
sung  with  great  vigour  and  intensity,  were  very 
popular,  and  therefore  much  practised. 

We  have  nothing  to  prove  that  either  oratory 
or  the  use  of  the  voice  were  cultivated  among  the 
Egyptians.  The  political  institutions  of  Greece, 
however,  and  the  construction  of  her  assemblies,  led 
inevitably  to  the  development  of  oratorical  powers. 
In  the  schools  of  rhetoric  young  men  were  sys- 
tematically trained  in  the  art  of  speaking.  The 
Sophists,  who  presided  over  many  of  these,  were 
the  first  to  intone,  a  habit  still  practised  by  certain 
religious  sects. 

Isocrates  was  the  head  of  a  celebrated  school 
of  oratory  in  Athens.  His  great  aim  was  to  perfect 
his  pupils  in  the  art  of  speaking  and  of  appropriate 
gesture,  and  he  may,  perhaps,  be  considered  the  first 
model  for  Delsarte.  Aristotle,  to  be  sure,  laid 
little  stress  on  the  rules  of  art,  maintaining  that 
the  substance  of  a  man's  speech  was  of  greater 
moment  than  the  correctness  of  the  form  into 
which  it  might  be  moulded,  the  truth  in  an  argu- 
ment being  of  more  importance  than  any  gesture 
of  the  speaker. 


THE  ORIGIN  OF  MUSIC.  9 

The  purely  professional  voice  trainers  were  the 
Phonarci.  These  Phonarci  endeavoured  to  culti- 
vate the  voice  both  for  singing  and  speaking. 
They  taught  enunciation,  and  proper  modulation 
and  inflection  of  the  voice.  Most  Athenian  youths 
were  given  a  course  of  training  under  them,  and 
great  rivalry  in  declamation  sprang  up  in  Athens, 
leading  eventually  to  the  establishment  of  public 
contests,  where  prizes  were  given  for  elocution. 
These  contests  took  place  in  the  open  air,  and 
from  the  endeavour  to  be  heard  at  a  distance  the 
speakers  and  actors  were  led  to  such  excessive  vo- 
ciferation that  Plutarch  had  to  warn  his  pupils, 
lest  they  should  bring  on  rupture  and  convulsions 
through  undue  effort. 

The  Greeks,  however,  in  addition  to  their  knowl- 
edge of  how  a  voice  should  be  cultivated  by  exer- 
cises and  training,  understood  as  well  how  it  should 
be  preserved  by  dieting  and  hygienic  measures.  In 
speaking  they  were  accustomed  to  use  a  demulcent 
liquid  containing  tragacanth.  Onions  and  garlic 
were  considered  beneficial  to  the  vocal  organs,  as 
were  also  leguminous  vegetables,  fish,  and  eels. 
Cubebs,  too,  seem  to  have  been  extensively  used. 
Certain  springs  were  visited  as  possessing  properties 
beneficial  to  the  voice,  especially  one  near  Zama, 
which  seems  to  have  been  a  sort  of  Greek  Wies- 


10  VOICE  BUILDING. 

baden.  The  Greek  physicians  used  such  agents 
as  gum  arabic,  tragacanth,  extract  of  pine,  oil 
of  almonds,  thyme  oil,  etc.,  for  throat  and  res- 
piratory troubles.  Cold  drinks  were  studiously 
avoided  by  singers  and  speakers,  who  were  also 
careful  as  to  their  mode  of  life,  avoiding  all  ex- 
cesses in  eating  and  drinking,  keeping  themselves 
in  every  way  in  the  best  mental  and  physical 
condition. 

Turning  from  Greece  to  Eome,  we  find  that, 
notwithstanding  the  greatness  of  the  Komans  in  all 
that  relates  to  government  and  the  constructive  arts, 
the  art  of  music  never  reached  the  same  develop- 
ment it  had  attained  among  the  Greeks,  from  whom 
they  inherited  it.  Eventually  it  fell  to  depths  of 
degradation,  which  fortunately  have  never  been 
equalled  in  subsequent  history. 

The  Etruscans  brought  the  traditions  of  the 
Greek  school  to  the  Romans,  and  the  instruments 
used  by  them — the  flute,  the  cithara,  and  the  lyre ; 
but,  while  Rome  derived  from  Greece  the  basis 
of  its  musical  theory,  the  life  of  the  people  was 
not  one  to  promote  any  further  development  of 
the  art.  Rome  was  without  a  dignified  drama  of 
its  own,  and  the  stimulating  influence  of  poetry. 
The  best  of  her  lyric  poets,  even  Horace,  lacked 
the  passionate  heart  expression  of  the  Greek 


THE  ORIGIN   OF   MUSIC.  H 

inuses,  and  their  verses  did  not  invite  musical  treat- 
ment. 

However,  certain  of  the  Romans  did  gain  an  in- 
sight into  the  true  principles  of  music,  for  Diodorus, 
A.  D.  50,  introduced  the  major  third  into  their  dia- 
tonic scale  as  a  consonance,  and  thus  they  established 
a  prototype  of  our  diatonic  scale.  The  Greeks  used 
the  diatonic,  chromatic,  and  what  they  called  the 
enharmonic  scale.  The  art  of  music  hi  Rome  at  one 
time  received  a  beneficial  impulse  from  the  Dionysic 
rites,  introduced  into  Rome  by  the  Greek  colonists 
in  southern  Italy.  But  the  tendency  to  sensualism 
soon  usurped  the  place  of  the  pure  love  of  beauty, 
the  dance  degenerated  into  voluptuous  costuming, 
music  was  at  best  cultivated  to  increase  the  pleasures 
of  life,  and  the  divine  art  reached  such  a  state  of 
degradation  that  it  fell  into  the  hands  of  licentious 
women,  and  it  was  expunged,  by  order  of  the  state, 
from  the  curriculum  of  Roman  education.  Oratory 
and  the  training  of  the  voice,  on  the  other  hand, 
were  as  carefully  practised  among  the  Romans  as 
among  the  Greeks.  Rhetoric  and  oratory  were 
taught  systematically,  and  indeed  The  Institutions 
of  Oratory,  by  Quintilian,  is  the  most  complete 
and  systematic  treatise  of  the  kind  we  have  inherited 
from  the  ancients,  and  superior  to  anything  pro- 
duced by  the  Greeks  on  the  same  subject.  This 


12  VOICE  BUILDING. 

work  covers  the  whole  question,  from  the  education 
of  the  youth  to  his  development  into  a  complete 
orator.  He  gives  minute  and  judicious  advice  on 
the  management  and  treatment  of  the  voice,  and 
brings  out  clearly  the  difference  between  the  aims 
of  the  speaker  and  the  singer.  He  also  advised  the 
cultivation  of  the  voice  in  the  middle  register,  declar- 
ing that  the  deeper  tones  lacked  force,  while  in  the 
higher  the  voice  is  in  danger  of  being  cracked.  He 
observes  that,  in  speaking,  the  breath  should  not  be 
drawn  in  too  often,  or  the  sentences  will  be  unneces- 
sarily broken  and  jerky. 

He  seems,  however,  to  have  believed,  like  so 
many  of  our  throat  specialists  to-day,  in  heroic  treat- 
ment of  the  vocal  organs.  Emulcent  applications 
are  advised  by  him. 

As  is  well  known,  oratory,  as  such,  reached  a 
very  high  plane  in  Rome.  The  Roman  drama,  how- 
ever, though  resembling  to  a  certain  degree  that  of 
the  Greeks,  was  but  a  poor  imitation  of  it.  The 
Romans  never  rose  to  any  height  in  tragedy,  and,  in 
their  disregard  for  music,  they  found  it  easy  to  dis- 
pense with  the  chorus.  As  a  consequence,  voice 
culture,  as  it  existed  on  the  Greek  stage,  was  un- 
known among  them.  Interesting  in  this  connection 
is  the  fact  that  there  is  good  reason  for  believing 
that  the  Roman  actors  intoned  or  chanted  their 


THE  ORIGIN  OF  MUSIC.  13 

speeches  to  a  musical  accompaniment,  in  a  manner 
somewhat  similar,  perhaps,  to  the  recitative  of  a 
modern  opera. 

Passing  from  Rome  to  the  middle  ages,  we  find 
oratory  preserved  and  eloquence  cultivated  by  the 
early  fathers  of  the  Church.  Between  the  fifth  and 
twelfth  centuries,  however,  oratory  with  the  other 
arts  slept,  until  in  the  latter  century  a  revival  took 
place  in  Italy,  which  has  culminated  in  the  enlight- 
enment of  the  present  age.  Throughout  the  eccle- 
siastical reign  of  scholarship  the  untutored  people 
had  a  music  of  their  own,  which,  in  its  tonal  and 
rhythmical  affinities  to  that  of  later  date,  commands 
present  sympathy,  and  which,  having  the  element  of 
harmony,  was  the  foundation  of  whatever  science 
and  art  have  together  attained. 

A  great  musical  resurrection  took  place  in  Flan- 
ders in  the  fifteenth  century.  The  Flemings  founded 
schools  in  Rome,  Florence,  and  Naples,  and  the  rise 
of  art  in  Germany  as  well,  was  directly  due  to  their 
influence.  Adopted  by  the  Church  for  the  people, 
the  principles  of  harmony  were  reduced  to  a  system 
under  the  name  of  counterpoint,  though  counter- 
point was  developed,  according  to  some  authorities, 
in  England  during  the  thirteenth  century.  It  is  in- 
teresting to  note  that  the  first  choral  service  was 
instituted  at  Antioch  about  the  time  of  Constantine, 


14  VOICE  BUILDING. 

whence  St.  Ambrose  introduced  it  in  the  Western 
churches. 

The  rise  of  popular  music  in  Europe  is  intimately 
connected  with  the  practice  of  minstrelsy.  The 
public  singer,  reciter,  and  story  teller  appear,  as  we 
know,  early  in  the  civilization  of  almost  every 
country. 

The  representatives  of  this  class,  however,  who 
have  perhaps  exerted  most  influence  over  modern 
music,  are  the  Provencal  poets  or  Troubadours,  who 
arose  in  France  toward  the  end  of  the  tenth  century. 

Finally,  the  crowning  achievement  in  the  musical 
development  of  the  voice  was  the  invention  of  the 
lyric  drama,  where  the  power  of  music  to  awaken 
emotions  is  applied  to  the  systematic  illustration  of 
human  passions.  The  first  public  performance  of 
regular  opera  took  place  in  Florence  in  the  year 
1600,  when  the  Eurydice  of  Einuccini  and  Peri  was 
represented  in  honour  of  the  wedding  of  Marie  de 
Medici  and  Henry  IY  of  France.  The  further  de- 
velopment of  opera,  up  to  the  time  of  Mozart,  Beet- 
hoven, and  Weber,  to  Wagner  and  Verdi,  need  not 
be  treated  here.  It  is  interesting,  however,  to  re- 
call the  fact  that  Greek  tragedy  was  essentially  lyric, 
and  that  it  fell  asleep  with  other  forms  of  classic 
art,  to  be  awakened  at  the  end  of  the  tenth  century. 


CHAPTEK  II. 

THE    ANATOMY   AND    PHYSIOLOGY    OF   THE    LARYNX. 

YOICE  consists  of  sounds  produced  by  the  vibra- 
tions of  two  elastic  bands — the  true  vocal  cords — 
situated  in  the  larynx,  an  upper  modified  portion  of 
that  passage  which  leads  from  the  lungs  to  the 
pharynx.  This  apparatus  is  not,  however,  in  con- 
stant activity,  but,  on  the  contrary,  allows  the  air  to 
pass  without  imparting  sonant  vibrations  to  it.  It 
is  only,  in  fact,  under  certain  conditions,  which  are 
dependent  upon  our  will,  that  the  vocal  cords  are 
put  in  such  a  position  that  the  air  driven  past  them 
is  set  into  periodic  vibration,  causing  them  to  emit  a 
musical  note.  The  lungs  and  respiratory  muscles 
are  therefore  accessory  parts  of  the  vocal  apparatus, 
the  strength  of  the  blast  produced  by  them  deter- 
mining the  loudness  of  the  voice.  The  vocal  appa- 
ratus of  the  larynx  itself  is  exceedingly  simple,  its 
character  being  that  of  a  membranous  reed  instru- 
ment, consisting  of  two  elastic  plates  stretched  so  as 
to  leave  a  narrow  fissure  between.  "When  a  current 


16  VOICE  BUILDING. 

of  air  passes  through  this  fissure,  they  are  thrown 
into  vibration.     The  mechanism,  however,  by  which 
these  membranous  reeds  are  adjusted  for  musical 
vibration,  and  the  further  adaptation  of  this  adjust- 
ment for  the  creation  of  tones  of  various  pitch,  is 
withal  very  delicate  and  complicated.     The  size  of 
the  larynx  primarily  determines  the  pitch  of  the 
voice,  which  is  lower  the  longer  the  vocal  cords ; 
hence  the  shrill  voices  of  children  and  the  usually 
higher  pitch  in  that  of  women.     Every  voice,  while 
its  general  pitch  is  dependent  upon  the  length  of 
the  vocal  cords,  has,  however,  a  certain  range  within 
limits  which  determines  whether  it  shall  be  soprano, 
mezzo-soprano,  alto,  tenor,  barytone,  or  bass.     This 
variety  is  produced  by  the  delicate  mechanism  above 
referred  to — that  is,  by  the  muscles  of  the  larynx— 
which  alter  the  tension  of  the  vocal  cords  and  the 
position  of  the  cartilages  of  the  larynx  itself.     The 
vocal  cords  alone  would  produce  but  feeble  sounds. 
Those  that  they  do  emit  are  strengthened  by  the 
sympathetic  resonance  of  the  air  in  the  thorax  below 
and  in  the  pharynx  and  nose  and  mouth  above,  the 
action  of  which  may  be  compared  to  the  sounding 
board  of  a  violin.     By  the  movements  of  the  throat, 
as  of  the  palate,  tongue,  cheeks,  and  lips,  the  sounds 
emitted  from  the  larynx  are  altered  or  supplemented 
in  various  ways  and  converted  into  articulate  Ian- 


ANATOMY  AND  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  THE  LARYNX.    17 

guage  or  speech.  The  larynx  itself  consists  of  a 
framework  of  cartilages  partly  joined  by  true  syno- 
vial  joints  and  partly  bound  together  by  ligaments 
and  membranes.  Muscles  are  added  which  move 
the  cartilages  with  reference  to  one  another  and 
bring  about  the  various  adjustments  of  the  vocal 
bands  necessary  for  the  production  of  vocal  sounds. 
THE  CARTILAGES  OF  THE  LARYNX. — The  frame  of 
the  larynx  is  composed  of  five  chief  cartilages, 
namely,  the  thyroid,  the  cricoid,  the  two  arytenoids, 
and  the  epiglottis.  In  addition  to  these,  there  are 
two  small  cartilages  on  either  side,  the  cartilages  of 
Santorini  and  of  Wrisberg. 

THE  THYROID. — The  thyroid,  the  largest  of  the 
cartilages  of  the  larynx,  consists  of  two  large  quadri- 
lateral plates,  which  meet  at  an  angle  in  front,  but 
separate  behind  to  include  the  laryngeal  space  in 
which  most  of  the  remaining  cartilages  lie.  In  front 
the  upper  junction  of  the  two  plates  is  marked  by  a 
notch,  more  distinct  in  men  than  in  women.  The 
posterior  borders  of  the  two  plates  are  extended 
above  and  below  into  projecting  horns.  The  upper 
cornua  give  attachment  to  the  thyro-hyoid  ligaments, 
the  lower,  however,  form  a  joint  with  the  cricoid 
cartilage.  The  cricoid  can  be  rotated  on  an  axis 
passing  through  its  joints  with  the  lower  horns  of 
the  thyroid.  By  the  action  of  the  crico-thyroid 


18 


VOICE  BUILDING. 


muscles  its  front  part  is  brought  nearer  the  thyroid, 
as  will  be  seen  later.  Behind  and  below  the  thyroid 
notch  is  the  attachment  of  the  epiglottic  ligament, 
while  immediately  below  this,  on  either  side  of  the 
median  line,  are  the  attachments  of  the  ventricular 
bands,  and  below  these,  those  of  the  vocal  cords. 
Immediately  without  the  point  of  attachment  of  the 
vocal  cords  are  inserted  the  thyro-arytenoid  muscles. 
THE  CRICOID. — The  cricoid  cartilage  is  practically 
the  upper  ring  of  the  trachea,  only  modified  and  en- 


Fio.  1. — Arytenoid  cartilages  seen 
from  behind :  a,  Cncoid  carti- 
lage ;  ft,  articular  facet  for  ar- 
ticulation with  the  inferior 
horn  of  the  thyroid  cartilage ; 
c,  arytenoid  cartilage ;  d,  car- 
tilage of  Santorini.  (Meyer.) 


Fio.  2.— Side  view  of  the  vocal 
cords  with  the  arytenoid  car- 
tilage :  «,  Cricoid  cartilage ;  x, 
articular  surface  for  inferior 
horn  of  thy  ro id  cartilage ;  ft,  vo- 
cal cord  ;  c,  vertical  section  of 
thyroid  cartilage  ;  </,  arytenoid 
cartilage  ;  0,  vocal  process  of  d\ 
/,  muscular  process  of  d\  ^car- 
tilage of  Santorini.  (Meyer.) 


larged.     Its  shape  is  usually  compared  to  that  of  a 
signet  ring.     The  anterior  half  is  rounded,  and  to  it 


ANATOMY  AND  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  THE  LARYNX.     19 

are  attached  the  important  crico-thyroid  muscles. 
The  posterior  half  is  the  broad  expanded  portion 
which  corresponds  to  the  seal  of  the  ring ;  upon  its 
upper  border  are  the  facets  for  the  articulation  of 
the  arytenoid  cartilages,  and  upon  the  outer,  those 
for  the  articulations  of  the  inferior  cornua  of  the 
thyroid  cartilage. 

The  upper  border  of  the  cricoid  ring  gives  at- 
tachment in  front  to  the  crico-thyroid  membrane,  at 
the  side  to  those  muscles  which  close  the  glottis, 
while  posteriorly  are  inserted  the  fibres  of  the  pos- 
terior crico-arytenoid  muscles  whose  chief  function 
is  to  open  the  glottis. 

THE  ARYTEXOID  CARTILAGES. — The  arytenoid 
cartilages  are  small,  pyramidal  bodies,  the  bases  of 
which  are  triangular  and  rest  upon  the  upper  edge 
of  the  posterior  wide  portion  of  the  cricoid,  forming 
true  joints  with  it. 

The  anterior  angle  of  each  is  prolonged,  and  to 
it  is  attached  the  vocal  cord  and  the  thyro-arytenoid 
muscle.  To  the  external  angle  of  the  base  of  each 
is  attached  the  posterior  and  lateral  crico-arytenoid 
muscles.  From  the  tip  of  each  arytenoid  cartilage 
a  fold  of  mucous  membrane,  inclosing  certain  mus- 
cles^-the  ary-epiglottic — extends  to  the  epiglottis. 
The  cartilages  of  Santorini  cause  a  projection  in  this 
fold,  just  above  which  there  is  a  similar  eminence  on 


20  VOICE  BUILDING. 

each  side  caused  by  the  remaining  pair  of  cartilages 
known  as  the  cuneiform,  or  cartilages  of  Wrisberg. 

Lastly,  there  is  the  epiglottis,  somewhat  like  a 
leaf  in  shape,  and  situated  between  the  root  of  the 
tongue  and  the  opening  of  the  larynx.  It  forms  a 
lid  which  is  open  to  allow  the  free  passage  of  air  in 
breathing,  but  protects  the  larynx  in  swallowing,  so 
that  the  food  may  pass  backward  safely  into  the 
gullet.  The  constrictor  muscles  of  the  larynx,  how- 
ever, are  sufficient  to  exclude  food  from  the  air  pas- 
sages, even  though  the  epiglottis  has  been  destroyed 
by  disease.  The  epiglottis  has  also  an  important 
function  in  its  action  upon  changing  the  quality  of 
tones  by  its  inclination  backward.  The  essential 
organ  of  the  voice  is  contained  within  the  cavity  in- 
closed by  the  cartilages  above  described,  and,  re- 
garded as  an  apparatus  for  producing  tone,  the  most 
important  part  of  the  larynx  is  formed  by  the  vocal 
plates  which,  converging  upward  in  a  concave  form, 
terminate  in  edges  which  pass  from  before  back- 
ward and  are  called  vocal  cords.  The  vocal  cords 
are  in  reality  bands  of  elastic  tissue,  lying  adjacent 
and  internal  to  the  thyro-arytenoid  muscle,  and  cov- 
ered by  the  mucous  membrane  of  the  larynx. 

The  fissure  lying  between  the  vocal  cords  is 
known  as  the  glottis.  From  below  the  glottis  is 
wedge-shaped,  but  from  above  it  appears  as  a  fissure 


ANATOMY  AND  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  THE  LARYNX.  21 

in  a  level  surface.  This  description  applies  only  to 
that  portion  of  the  vocal  plates  which  is  really  em- 
ployed in  the  production  of  tone,  that  is,  to  the  larger 
anterior  division  of  the  vocal  cords ;  for  the  smaller 
or  posterior  division  of  the  vocal  cords  into  which 
the  arytenoid  cartilages  are  inserted  is  not  free,  but 


Cricoid  cartilage 
Right  arytenoid  cartilage     I    Left  arytenoid  cartilage 


Post,  cricp- 
arytenoid 


Lateral 
crico-arytenold 


Right 

vocal  cord 

Thyrp- 

arytenoid 


Left  vocal  cord 

Cricoid 
cartilage 


Thyroid 
cartilage 


Fio.  3. — Showing  the  intrinsic  muscles  of  the  larynx,  seen  from 
above.     (Gray.) 


attached  to  the  lateral  vertical  walls  of  the  superior 
cavity  of  the  larynx,  and  forms  the  so-called  respira- 
tory part  of  the  glottis,  which  may  be  seen  as  a  tri- 
angular opening  when  the  vocal  cords  are  in  apposi- 
tion. The  elastic  vocal  cord  affords  attachment  in 
its  whole  length  to  the  fibres  of  the  thyro-arytenoid 


22  VOICE  BUILDING. 

muscle,  and  is  itself  practically  a  ligamentous  border 
of  this  muscle,  which  reaches  from  the  inner  angle 
of  the  base  of  each  aryteiioid  cartilage  to  the  inner 
angle  of  the  thyroid  cartilage  in  front  where  its 
halves  imite.  The  posterior  attachments,  however, 
of  the  vocal  cords  follow  the  distribution  of  the 
thyro-arytenoid  muscles.  One  portion  is  inserted  into 
the  anterior  angle  and  face  of  the  arytenoid  carti- 
lages, while  another  portion — that  is,  the  lower  fibres 
—lose  themselves  in  the  capsular  ligament  which  in- 
vests the  crico-arytenoid  joint  and  in  the  anterior 
face  of  the  expanded  portion  of  the  cricoid  ring. 
Above  each  vocal  cord  is  a  pocket — the  so-called 
ventricle  of  the  larynx.  This  is  bounded  above  by 
a  somewhat  prominent  edge — the  ventricular  band- 
known  as  the  false  vocal  cord. 

This  ventricular  band  is  nothing  more  than  the 
lower  edge  of  the  membranous  fold,  stretching 
from  the  side  of  the  epiglottis  in  front  to  the  aryte- 
noid cartilage  behind,  and  completing  the  side  wall 
of  the  upper  part  of  the  larynx.  Several  writers 
have  assumed  that  the  ventricular  bands  have  an 
important  function  in  the  production  of  the  falsetto 
voice.  This  statement  is  not  borne  out  by  observa- 
tion and  experiment.  In  quiet  breathing,  and  after 
death,  the  free  inner  edges  of  the  vocal  cord  are 
thick  and  rounded,  and  are  also  tolerably  widely 


ANATOMY  AND  PPIYSIOLOGY  OF  THE  LARYNX.     23 

separated  behind  through  their  attachment  to  the 
arytenoid  cartilages.  If  they  are  watched  with  a 
laryngoscope  during  phonation,  it  is  seen  that  the 
cords  approximate  behind  so  as  to  narrow  the  glot- 
tis. At  the  same  time  they  become  more  tense 
and  their  inner  edges  project  more  sharply  and 
form  a  better  defined  margin  to  the  glottis,  and  their 
vibrations,  especially  in  the  production  of  low  notes, 
can  be  seen.  These  various  changes  are  brought 
about  by  the  delicate  co-ordination  of  the  small 
muscles  which  move  the  cartilages  to  which  the 
cords  are  fixed. 

As  we  have  seen,  the  glottis  is  always  kept 
open  for  the  entering  and  returning  currents  of  air, 
the  posterior  edges  being  separated  from  each  other 
at  their  attachments  to  the  arytenoid  cartilages. 
^Tow,  as  the  utmost  width  of  the  glottis  must  not 
exceed  one  twelfth  of  an  inch  in  vocalizing,  some 
arrangement  must  be  found  which  can  be  employed 
voluntarily  to  bring  the  vocal  cords  in  the  neces- 
sary approximation  for  the  production  of  tone. 
This  arrangement  is  to  be  found  in  the  small  aryte- 
noid cartilages,  described  above,  to  which  the  vocal 
cords  are  attached. 

The  movements  of  these  important  cartilages 
are  controlled  by  the  intrinsic  muscles  of  the  larynx 
attached  to  them.  In  considering  the  action  of 


24  VOICE  BUILDING. 

these  muscles,  we  must  not  forget  that  any  given 
position  of  the  vocal  bands  is  the  direct  result,  not 
of  the  action  of  any  given  muscle,  but  of  the  co-or- 
dinated movement  of  many  muscles  and  of  other 
forces  depending  on  the  nature  of  the  articulation 
of  the  arytenoids  with  the  cricoid,  and  of  the  cri- 
coid  with  the  thyroid,  etc. 

THE  MUSCLES  OF  THE  LARYNX. — The  most  im- 
portant muscles  of  the  larynx,  and  those  which  act 
directly  upon  the  vocal  cords,  are  the  crico-thyroid, 
the  posterior  crico-arytenoid,  the  lateral  crico-aryt- 
enoid,  the  thyro-arytenoid,  and  the  transverse,  or 
inter-arytenoid.  These  muscles  are  in  pairs,  with 
the  exception  of  the  latter. 

THE  CRICO-THYROID  MUSCLES. — The  most  im- 
portant muscles  in  the  production  of  voice  are  the 
crico-thyroid.  They  are  short,  thick,  triangular 
muscles,  attached  in  front  and  below  to  the  cricoid 
cartilage,  and  extend  from  the  median  line  a  con- 
siderable way  backward,  the  fibres  passing  up- 
ward and  outward,  diverging  slightly,  and  fixed 
above  to  the  inferior  border  of  the  thyroid  cartilage 
and  to  the  anterior  border  of  its  lower  cornua.  The 
muscles  of  the  two  sides  are  somewhat  separate 
from  one  another  in  the  middle  line  in  front.  The 
crico-thyroids  are  the  muscles  by  which  increased 
tension  of  the  vocal  cords  is  mainly  produced. 


ANATOMY  AND  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  THE  LARYNX.  25 

The  explanation  of  the  working  of  these  most  im- 
portant muscles  formerly  given  in  the  text-books 


FIG.  4. — Action  of  crico-thyroid  muscles  in  tensing  the  vocal  cords. 

was  that  on  contracting  they  pulled  down  the  an- 
terior part  of  the  thyroid  cartilage,  and  so  increased 
the  tension  of  the  vocal  cords,  by  lengthening  the 
distance  from  the  anterior  commissure  of  the  thy- 
roid to  the  vocal  processes  of  the  arytenoid  carti- 
lages, the  cricoid  cartilage  remaining  fixed  and 
immovable.  This  explanation,  hi  view  of  the  ex- 
periments and  observation  of  many  of  the  best  in- 
vestigators, such  as  Hooper,*  Neuman,f  Onodi,J 

*  Trans.  Amer.  Laryngol.  Assn.,  1883,  p.  118. 
f  Ann.  des  Mai.  de  1'Oreille  et  du  Larynx,  vol.  xx,  Paris, 
Nov.,  1894. 

J  Ungar.  Arch,  fur  Med.  Wisch,  vol.  iii,  1894. 


26  VOICE  BUILDING. 

Jelenffy,*  Moura,f  and  Desvernine,:):  can  no  longer 
be  held  as  correct;  on  the  contrary,  it  has  been 
proved  beyond  any  question  that  the  crico-thyroid 
muscles,  on  contracting,  pull  up  the  anterior  border 

Hyoid  bone 


Thyroid  cartilage  — 


Crico-thyroid  space- 

Crico-thyroid  muscle 

cartilage 


Trac 


FIG.  5. 

of  the  cricoid  cartilage,  the  thyroid  cartilage  re- 
maining fixed.  This  may  be  made  plain  by  consid- 
ering, first,  the  distribution,  as  given  above,  of  the 
crico-thyroid  muscle,  attached  as  it  is  to  the  ante- 
rior surface  of  the  cricoid  cartilage,  and  extending 

*  Arch,  fiir  die  gesammte  Phys.,  1873,  vol.  vii. 

t  Ann.  des  Mai.  de  1'Oreille,  1885,  vol.  xi. 

J  Jour,  of  Laryngology,  vol.  ii.,  London,  1888. 


ANATOMY  AND  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  THE  LARYNX.     97 

upward  and  outward,  to  be  inserted  into  the 
inferior  border  of  the  thyroid  and  into  the  anterior 
border  of  its  lower  cornu.  The  anterior  portion 
of  the  muscle  on  contracting  will  approximate 
the  cricoid  and  thyroid  cartilages  in  front.  In 
this  action,  the  thyroid  is  fixed  by  the  extrinsic 
muscles ;  and  the  anterior  part  of  the  cricoid,  rotat- 
ing on  the  axis  which  unites  the  articulations  be- 
tween the  cricoid  and  the  lower  cornua  of  the  thy- 
roid, is  drawn  upward.  That  part  of  the  cricoid 
behind  the  crico-thyroid  joints  is  rotated  down- 
ward, describing  an  arc,  the  arytenoid  cartilages 
following  the  same  movement,  and  consequently 
the  vocal  cords  are  elongated  and  tensed.  The  ob- 
lique fibres,  moreover,  assist  in  the  tension  of  the 
vocal  cords  ;  pulling  as  they  do  from  the  fixed  cornua 
of  the  thyroid  cartilage,  they  draw  the  cricoid 
cartilage  slightly  backward,*  and  this  action  tends 
to  increase  the  tension  of  the  cords.  When  we  bear 
in  mind  that  not  a  single  extrinsic  muscle  is  attached 
to  the  cricoid  cartilage,  and  reflect  upon  the  me- 
chanical construction  of  the  larynx,  it  is  difficult  to 
comprehend  by  what  mechanism  it  can  possibly  be 
fixed  in  a  sense  that  will  permit  the  thyroid  carti- 
lage to  be  pulled  down  upon  it,  as  was  formerly 

*  Quain's  Anatomy,  p.  532,  vol.  ii. 


28  fOICE  BUILDING. 

stated.  On  the  contrary,  its  extreme  mobility  is 
one  of  its  most  striking  characteristics.  In  vocali- 
zation, the  thyroid  cartilage,  steadied  by  the  power- 
ful extrinsic  muscles  inserted  into  it,  may  be  re- 
garded, as  compared  to  the  cricoid,  as  the  passive 
agent;  while  the  latter,  owing  to  the  manner  in 
which  it  swings  upon  the  short  processes  of  the  thy- 
roid behind,  and  to  the  mobility  of  the  parts  in 
front,  and  to  a  certain  extent  on  its  sides,  is  permitted 
to  play  upon  the  thyroid  with  every  delicacy  of  ad- 
justment, through  the  agency  of  the  intrinsic  muscles 
of  the  larynx  attached  to  it,  and  to  another  force 
presently  to  be  alluded  to.  Jelenffy  has  conclu- 
sively proved  that  the  thyroid  is  fixed  in  vocaliza- 
tion, and  the  upward  movement  of  the  anterior  part 
of  the  cricoid  cartilage  on  electrical  stimulation  of 
the  crico- thyroid  muscle  has  been  graphically  shown 
by  him,  as  well  as  by  Hooper,  Onodi,  Merkel,*  and 
Neuman.  It  is  interesting  to  note  here  that  paraly- 
sis of  this  muscle  is  accompanied  by  inability  to 
produce  high  notes.  Onodi  has  furthermore  proved 
that  the  crico-thyroids  in  contracting  unquestiona- 
bly assist  in  adducting  the  vocal  bands,  and  increase 
their  tension  by  bringing  the  plates  of  the  thyroid 
cartilage  somewhat  nearer  together. 

*  Anat.  und  Phys.  d.  Mensch,  Stimme,  Leipsic,  1863. 


ANATOMY  AND  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  THE  LARYNX.  29 


THE  LATERAL  CBICO  -  AEYTENOID  MUSCLES. — 
These  muscles  arise  from  the  upper  margin  of  the 
lateral  portion  of  the  cricoid  cartilage  and  are  in- 
serted into  the  muscular  process  of  the  arjtenoid 
cartilages.  They  pass  upward  and  backward,  and, 
having  their  fixed  point  in  the  cricoid,  they  draw 
the  outer  angle  of  the  arytenoid  cartilage  forward, 
thus  throwing  its  vocal  process  inward  and  closing 
the  glottis.  The  movement  they  impart  to  the 
arytenoid  cartilage  is  in  all  respects  similar  to  that 
given  to  it  by  the  thyro-arytenoid,  although  their 
pull  has  a  tendency  to  place  the  glottis  higher. 

THE  THYBO- ARYTENOID  MUSCLES  (Fig.  3). — These 
muscles  arise  from  the  posterior  and  lower  portion 
of  the  angle  of  the  thyroid.  They  pass  backward 
along  the  outer  side  of  the  vocal 
cords,  to  be  inserted  into  the 
base  and  anterior  surface  of 
the  aryteDoid  cartilages. 

Each  muscle  is  usually  de- 
scribed as  composed  of  two  por- 
tions, an  internal  and  external. 
The  internal  is  attached  to  the 
vocal  band  in  its  whole  length, 
and  is  inserted  into  the  exter- 
nal surface  of  the  vocal  pro- 
cess ;  the  external  portion 


FIG.  6.— Action  of  thyro- 
arytenoid  muscles  in 
rotating  the  arytenoid 
cartilages  and  approx- 
imating the  vocal  pro- 
cesses and  cords,  from 
Bto  A. 


30  VOICE   BUILDING. 

spreads  out  and  is  inserted  into  the  anterior  face 
of  the  arytenoid  cartilage  as  far  outward  as  the 
muscular  process. 

The  action  of  the  internal  portion  would  be  to 
draw  forward  the  arytenoid  and  posterior  portion  of 
the  cricoid  and  antagonize  the  action  of  the  crico- 
thyroid,  the  effect  being  to  relax  the  vocal  cords.  If, 
however,  the  cords  are  kept  tense  and  approximated 
by  the  action  of  other  muscles,  it  probably  serves  only 
to  modify  their  elasticity  and  consistence.  The  ac- 
tion of  the  external  fibers  of  the  thyro-arytenoid  is,  as 
we  shall  see,  to  rotate  the  arytenoid  in  such  a  manner 
that  its  anterior  margin  and  vocal  process  will  be 
drawn  inward  and  downward.  The  downward  move- 
ment, however,  is  impeded  to  a  certain  extent  by  the 
elastic  counter- tention  of  the  vocal  cords.  The  action 
of  the  thyro-arytenoid,  as  a  whole,  is,  consequently, 
to  adjust  the  vocal  cord,  to  modify  its  elasticity,  and 
probably  also  to  increase  or  diminish  its  vibrating 
surfaces  in  the  production  of  tone.  This  muscle,  it 
is  very  evident,  must  play  an  important  part  in  voice 
production,  from  the  lowest  to  the  highest  note. 
The  combined  action  of  the  thyro-arytenoids  and 
the  lateral  crico-arytenoids  in  lowering  and  raising 
the  vocal  cords  is  interesting  as  affecting  the  tone 
produced  in  the  larynx.  The  thyro-arytenoid,  as 
we  have  seen,  being  attached  to  the  arytenoid  carti- 


ANATOMY  AND  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  THE  LARYNX.     31 

lage  at  a  higher  level  than  the  lateral  crico -arytenoid, 
draws  the  upper  portion  of  the  cartilage  more  pow- 
erfully downward  and  forward  at  the  same  time 
the  vocal  process  is  depressed.  The  glottis  then, 
when  this  muscle  is  acting,  is  lower  than  when  the 
vocal  cords  are  in  a  state  of  rest. 

When,  however,  the  glottis  is  adjusted  by  the 
lateral  crico-arytenoid  muscles,  its  plane  is  higher 
than  when  at  rest,  because  these  muscles  act  upon 
the  muscular  processes  of  the  arytenoid  cartilages 
and  draw  them  down,  and  the  vocal  processes  and 
the  principal  part  of  the  arytenoid  is  forced  to  rise, 
and  consequently  the  vocal  cords  are  placed  on  a 
higher  plane.  This  change  does  not  affect  the  whole 
of  the  glottis,  but  the  posterior  portion  only,  and 
hence  it  would  be  more  correct  to  say  that,  in  ad- 
justing the  glottis,  the  thyro-arytenoid  muscles  give 
it  such  an  inclination  that  the  posterior  end  lies 
lower  than  its  anterior ;  the  lateral  crico-arytenoids, 
on  the  contrary,  cause  a  different  inclination,  raising 
the  posterior  part  of  the  glottis  higher  than  the 
anterior.  The  changes  in  the  level  of  the  vocal 
cords  brought  about  by  the  action  of  these  muscles 
probably  has  more  or  less  effect  upon  the  tone  pro- 
duced, for  it  seems  likely  that  these  changes  in  the 
position  of  the  glottis  must  affect  the  current  of  air 
as  it  strikes  against  the  vocal  cords  in  different 


32 


VOICE  BUILDING. 


ways.  The  increased  height  of  the  glottis  caused 
by  the  lateral  crico-arytenoid  muscles  must  produce 
a  more  gradual  convergence  of  the  side  walls  of  the 
lower  laryngeal  cavity,  and  consequently  the  cur- 
rent of  air  will  pass  onward  with  little  interruption 
and  strike  with  full  force  at  the  glottis.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  lower  position  of  the  glottis  conse- 
quent upon  the  action  of  the  thyro-arytenoids  must 
produce  a  more  rapid  convergence  of  the  side  walls 
of  the  cavity,  and  the  current  of  air  will  be  partly 
expanded  upon  the  walls  before  reaching  the  vocal 
cords.*  This  change  in  height 
of  the  glottis  would  mean  a 
change  in  the  angle  of  incidence 
of  the  vocal  cords,  and,  as  we 
shall  see,  Koschlakoff  has  found 
that  the  angle  of  incidence  ef- 
fects the  type  of  vibration  of 
the  cords  and  possibly  the  note 
produced. 

THE  TRANSVERSE  ARYTE- 
NOID MUSCLE. — The  transverse 
arytenoid  is  a  single  muscle  which  passes  from  the 
posterior  surface  and  outer  border  of  one  arytenoid 
cartilage  to  the  corresponding  portion  of  the  oppo- 


Fio.  7.— View  of  the 
transverse  arytenoid 
muscle  (b)  and  the 
posterior  crico-aryt- 
enoid muscle  (a) 
from  behind.  (Mey- 
er.) 


Meyer,  op.  cit. 


ANATOMY  AND  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  THE  LARYNX.  33 


FIG.  8.— Action  of  transverse 
arytenoid  muscles  in  pull- 
ing cartilages,  from  A 
toB. 


site  one.     The  action  of  this  muscle  is  to  approxi- 
mate the  arytenoid  cartilages  and  to  close  that  por- 
tion of  the  rima  glottis  which 
is  included  between  the  aryt- 
enoid cartilages. 

The  muscles  above  de- 
scribed are  the  adductor,  or 
closing  muscles  of  the  glottis. 

THE  POSTERIOR  CRICO- 
ARTTENOID  MUSCLES. — The 
two  other  muscles  of  the 
arytenoid  group  have  the 
opposite  effect,  viz.,  of  wid- 
ening the  glottis.  The  more 

important  muscles  producing  this  effect  are  the  pos- 
terior crico-arytenoids,  which  are  essentially  the  re- 
spiratory muscles  of  the  larynx,  in  contradistinction 
to  all  the  other  muscles  of  this  organ,  which  are 
essentially  phonatory.  The  posterior  crico-arytenoid 
muscles  arise  upon  the  posterior  surface  of  the  plate 
of  the  cricoid  cartilage,  occupying,  indeed,  each  lat- 
eral half  of  the  plate ;  the  fibres  then  converge,  and 
are  inserted  into  the  muscular  processes  of  the 
arytenoids.  They  draw  down  these  points  of  the 
arytenoids  backward  and  inward.  The  greater  part 
of  the  arytenoid,  which  lies  within  the  cricoid  carti- 
lage, is  consequently  drawn  outward,  that  part  which 


VOICE  BUILDING. 


FIG.  9.— Form  given  to  the 
glottis  by  the  posterior 
crico-arytenoid  muscle. 
Direction  in  which  the 
muscle  pulls  indicated 
"by  arrows.  (Meyer.) 


is  furthest  from  the  fulcrum  upon  the  cricoid, 
namely,  the  vocal  process,  making  the  largest  ex- 
cursion, in  that  direction. 
Thus  their  action  is  to  widen 
the  entire  glottis  in  such  a 
manner  that  its  greatest  width 
lies  between  the  vocal  pro- 
cesses. 

The  above  muscles  act  di- 
rectly upon  the  vocal  cords. 
Two  other  muscles,  the  thyro- 
epiglottic  and  the  aryteno- 
epiglottic,  make  an  almost 
complete  girdle  round  the  cavity  of  the  larynx,  and, 
in  contracting,  they  necessarily  constrict  the  aper- 
ture of  the  larynx,  tending  to  approximate  the  vocal 
bands. 

THE  STERNO-THYEOID  AND  THYEO-HYOID  MUS- 
CLES.— These  muscles  are  of  importance,  for,  as  has 
been  shown  by  Hooper  *  and  others,  they  perform  an 
important  role  in  fixing  the  thyroid  during  phona- 
tion.  The  sterno-thyroids  arise  from  the  upper 
edge  of  the  sternum  and  are  inserted  in  the  sides  of 
the  thyroid  cartilage.  The  thyro-hyoids  arise  from 
the  sides  of  the  thyroid,  above  the  insertion  of  the 


*  Op.  cit. 


AXATOMY  AND  PHYSIOLOGY  OP  THE  LARYXX.     35 

sterno- thyroids,  and,  passing  upward,  are  inserted 
into  the  lower  part  of  the  body  and  great  wings  of 
the  hyoid  bone.  The  action  of  the  sterao-thyroid 
would  be  to  lower  the  larynx ;  of  the  thyro-hyoid  to 
raise  it ;  acting  together,  however,  they  undoubted- 
ly serve  to  steady  the  larynx  during  phonation  and 
enable  the  intrinsic  muscles  of  the  larynx  to  perform 
their  functions  with  a  greater  degree  of  nicety. 

Let  us  examine  more  particularly  the  action  of 
the  larynx  and  of  the  parts  above  and  below  in  voice 
production.  AVe  know  that  the  larynx  moves  a  little 
downward  in  the  utterance  of  deep  notes  and  (in 
certain  methods  of  voice  production)  rises  with  the 
ascending  scale.  The  lowering  of  the  larynx  in  deep 
notes,  however,  is  a  consequence  rather  than  the 
cause  of  low  pitch,  as  a  singer  instinctively  relaxes 
all  the  muscles  supporting  the  organ  that  the  cords 
may  be  in  a  position  of  least  tension.  The  lowering 
of  the  chin  toward  the  breast  bone  is  a  part  of  a  sim- 
ilar natural  adjustment.  The  reverse  of  this  action 
may  be  seen  in  tenors  and  sopranos  when  the  head 
is  thrown  back  in  the  delivery  of  notes  produced 
by  the  method  known  as  the  coup  de  glotte.  The 
whole  distance,  however,  which  the  larynx  traverses, 
from  the  deepest  chest  to  the  highest  falsetto  note, 
is  so  inconsiderable  that  the  mere  lengthening  or 
shortening  of  the  vocal  tube  within  so  limited  a 


36  VOICE  BUILDING. 

range  can  have  little,  if  any,  effect  on  the  pitch  of  the 
sound  produced,  and  it  should  be  remembered  that, 
if  the  tongue  be  kept  at  rest,  a  great  part  of  the 
scale  can  be  sounded  without  any  material  change 
whatever  in  the  position  of  the  larynx  itself.  The 
elevation  of  the  larynx  just  spoken  of  must  not  be 
confounded  with  the  approximation  of  the  cricoid 
upon  the  thyroid  cartilage,  and  the  consequent  ob- 
literation of  the  interval  between  their  borders  in 
front,  that  is,  of  the  crico-thyroid  space  (Fig.  4). 
The  contraction  of  the  crico-thyroid  muscles  can 
not  in  any  way  fix  the  position  of  the  larynx  as  a 
whole,  but  only  the  position  of  the  vocal  cords  in 
respect  to  their  tension.  Approximation  of  the 
cricoid  upon  the  thyroid  cartilage  anteriorly  stretch- 
es, as  we  have  seen,  the  vocal  cords.  Accordingly, 
we  find  that  in  the  lowest  part  of  the  chest  register 
the  interval  between  the  cartilages  is  greatest,  where- 
as, in  the  upper  notes,  the  crico-thyroid  space  is 
practically  obliterated,  as  can  be  easily  verified  by 
placing  the  finger  in  the  space  above  mentioned. 

With  respect  to  the  parts  immediately  below  the 
glottis,  the  trachea  rises  to  a  slight  extent  as  the 
voice  goes  upward.  This  fact,  however,  has  prob- 
ably little  or  no  effect  either  on  the  pitch  or  the 
quality  of  the  note,  but  is  merely  the  mechanical 
result  of  increased  breath  power,  the  larynx,  as  has 


ANATOMY  AND  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  THE  LARYNX.  37 


been  shown  by  Hooper,*  Onodi,f  and 
being  blown  upwards  by  the  breath  current  and 
pulling  the  windpipe  with  it.  In  the  chest  itself 
there  is  this  notable  difference  in  the  two  registers, 
that  whereas  in  the  lower  the  thoracic  wall  shakes 
strongly,  as  can  be  felt  on  applying  the  hand  to  the 
singer's  chest,  the  vibration  gradually  becomes 
fainter  as  the  high  notes  are  reached,  finally  ceasing 
altogether  in  the  falsetto.  Speaking  broadly,  the 
general  act  of  phonation  is  as  follows  :  The  thyroid 
cartilage  is  fixed,  as  we  have  seen,  by  the  very  strong 
muscles  attached  to  it,  and  Meyer  says  *  direct  tension 
of  the  vocal  cords  is  produced  to  some  extent  by  the 
mere  adjustment  of  the  glottis,  partly  through  the 
approximation  of  the  vocal  processes  of  the  aryte- 
noid  cartilages,  and  partly  through  their  depression 
by  the  thyro-arytenoid  or  their  elevation  and  adjust- 
ment by  the  lateral  crico-arytenoid  muscle.  Follow- 
ing this  preliminary  adjustment,  there  is  a  fixation 
of  the  arytenoid  cartilages  by  the  combined  action 
of  the  posterior  with  the  latero-crico-arytenoids. 
The  rearrangement  of  the  vocal  ligaments  them- 
selves is  due  to  the  action  of  the  internal  and  exter- 
nal thyro-arytenoid  muscles.  Tradition  says  that 


*  Loc.  cit.  f  Loc.  cit.  $  Loc.  cit. 

*  The  Organs  of  Speech,  New  York,  1884. 


38  VOICE  BUILDING. 

the  vocal  cords  rise  in  phonation  because  they  follow 
the  general  rise  of  the  arytenoid  cartilages.  Un- 
questionably the  arytenoid  cartilages  obtain  their 
greatest  height  at  the  moment  of  the  closing  of  the 
glottis,  but  Neuman  *  has  proved  that,  through  the 
action  probably  of  the  thyro-arytenoid  muscles, 
there  is  an  actual  sinking  of  the  vocal  cords  when 
they  are  stretched,  and  that  their  posterior  insertion 
is  lower  than  the  anterior.  This  change  in  the 
plane  of  the  vocal  cords,  this  dipping  of  their  pos- 
terior insertions,  has  unquestionably  been  lost  sight 
of  in  the  general  rise  of  the  larynx,  as  seen  in  the 
laryngoscope  in  the  production  of  high  notes. 

We  have  seen  that,  owing  to  the  manner  in 
which  the  thyro-arytenoid  muscles  pull  upon  the 
arytenoid  cartilages,  the  vocal  cords  are  pulled 
down  and  relaxed  by  that  muscle.  This  may  be 
plainly  seen  in  cases  of  paralysis  of  one  recurrent 
nerve,  where  on  phonation  the  affected  cord  lies 
invariably  on  a  higher  plane  than  the  healthy 
one.  This  descent  of  the  vocal  cords  on  phona- 
tion Neuman  has  shown  very  prettily  as  follows : 
He  cut  the  right  recurrent  nerve  and  the  right 
superior  laryngeal,  thus  preventing  the  crico-thy- 
roid  muscle  from  acting,  and  the  right  cord  could 

*  Loc.  at. 


ANATOMY  AND  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  THE  LARYNX.  39 

be  seen  distinctly  higher  than  the  left,  even  when 
the  left  was  in  the  respiratory  position.  On  stimu- 
lation of  the  cut  end  of  the  nerve,  the  position 
assumed  by  the  right  cord  was  distinctly  lower 
than  before,  and  yet  not  quite  on  the  same  plane 
as  the  tensed  normal  left  cord.  Furthermore,  the 
right  cord  did  not  assume  its  normal  position  until 
the  right  crico-thyroid  muscle  was  brought  into 
action  by  artificial  stimulation.  We  emphasize  this 
sinking  of  the  vocal  cords  in  phonation,  for,  as  we 
have  shown,  the  shape  of  the  lower  laryngeal 
cavity  is  unquestionably  altered  by  such  move- 
ments, and  the  manner  in  which  the  air  blast 
strikes  the  vibrating  cords  influenced.  It  may  be 
readily  seen  that  the  extent  to  which  the  cords 
must  sink  in  phonation  must  vary  in  different 
people,  and  have  a  distinct  effect  upon  the  original 
pitch  of  the  voice.  We  have  often  noted  this  sink- 
ing of  the  cords  in  singers — that  on  the  production 
of  a  high  note  the  arytenoids  and  posterior  parts 
of  the  vocal  cords  disappear  from  the  fixed  mirror, 
leaving  only  the  anterior  commissure  visible.  This 
sinking  out  of  sight  of  the  vocal  cords  under  such 
conditions  is  easily  explained  when  we  remember, 
first,  that,  as  the  crico-thyroid  muscles  contract, 
they  pull  up  the  anterior  surface  of  the  cricoid 
cartilage,  causing  the  posterior  part  of  the  ring  to 


40  VOICE  BUILDING. 

describe  an  arc  backward  and  downward,  and  that 
the  arytenoid  cartilages  follow  the  downward 
movement.  Second,  the  position  of  the  cords  in 
the  horizontal  plane  is  dependent  not  upon  the 
arytenoids  alone,  but  upon  the  actual  attachments 
of  the  vocal  cords  to  the  vocal  processes.  Third, 
as  Neuman  *  again  has  shown,  the  elasticity  of  the 
tense  vocal  cord  itself  prevents  the  rising  of  the 
posterior  part  of  the  cord,  and  actually  pulls  down 
the  vocal  process  and  angle  of  the  arytenoid,  in- 
stead of  raising  it. 

For  the  act  of  phonation,  the  general  adjust- 
ment of  the  glottis,  and  the  approach  of  the  vocal 
processes  having  taken  place,  the  larynx  having 
assumed  its  lowest  possible  position,  and  the  ex- 
trinsic muscles  being  completely  relaxed,  the 
deepest  notes  are  produced  by  a  contraction  of  the 
external  fibres  of  the  thyro-arytenoid  muscles  which 
pull  forward  the  apices  of  the  arytenoid  cartilages 
and  approximate  the  vocal  cords,  the  internal 
fibres  of  the  thyro-arytenoid  probably  remaining 
passive.  We  say  the  internal  fibres  probably  re- 
main passive,  for  while  in  contracting  they  may 
not  increase  the  tension  of  the  vocal  cords,  they 
certainly  render  their  free  edges  more  prominent, 

*  Loc.  dt. 


ANATOMY  AND  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  THE  LARYNX.  41 

and  tend  to  shorten  the  vibrating  plates,  which  is 
not  to  be  desired  in  the  production  of  low  notes. 

The  ascent  of  the  next  two  or  three  tones  is 
probably  obtained  by  the  gradual  relaxation  of  the 
external  and  the  gentle  contraction  of  the  internal 
fibres  of  the  thyro-arytenoid  muscle.  A  point  is 
thus  reached  where  the  vocal  cords  are  held  to- 
gether by  the  transverse  arytenoid  muscle,  with 
some  slight  assistance,  perhaps,  from  the  lateral 
crico-arytenoid.  A  new  period  in  the  production 
of  the  notes  now  begins,  in  which  the  cords  are 
gradually  made  more  tense  and  brought  into  closer 
contact.  Now  the  greatest  increase  of  tension,  as 
we  have  shown,  is  caused  by  the  action  of  the  crico- 
thyroid  muscle,  but  some  slight  tension  is  also 
brought  about  by  the  contraction  of  those  fibres 
of  the  internal  portion  of  the  thyro-arytenoid 
muscles  which  are  attached  in  front  to  the  vocal 
cord  and  behind  to  the  vocal  process  of  the  aryt- 
tenoid  cartilage,  the  result  being  to  tighten  that 
division  of  the  cords  in  front  of  their  attachment 
to  the  vocal  processes,  as  Ludwig  was  the  first  to 
demonstrate.  At  this  point  the  transverse  aryt- 
enoid comes  into  full  play,  and  completely  shuts 
the  cartilaginous  glottis.  Now  there  is  a  gradually 
increasing  pull  of  the  crico-thyroid  muscle  until 
the  crico-thyroid  space  is  almost  obliterated  and 


42  VOICE  BUILDING. 

the  cords  are  tensed,  as  far  as  it  is  possible  for 
them  to  he  in  voice  production,  with  this  arrange- 
ment of  the  various  muscles  concerned.  If  looked 
at  with  the  laryngoscope  at  this  time,  there  is  a 
perceptible  change  from  the  horizontal  plane  of 
the  cords,  the  posterior  ends  being  distinctly  lower, 
the  arytenoids  having  passed  out  of  the  sight  in 
the  laryngeal  mirror,  a  point  which  was  emphasized 
above.  Having  reached  this  stage  in  the  produc- 
tion of  the  lower  register,  for  any  other  further 
elevation  of  pitch  a  complete  rearrangement  of 
the  vocal  apparatus  is  necessary.  We,  perhaps, 
should  have  referred  before  to  another  element  in 
the  tensing  of  the  vocal  cords,  viz.,  that  furnished 
by  the  blast  of  air.  Its  effect  upon  their  tension 
has  been  experimentally  proved  by  Hooper  and 
Muller,  and  it  is,  of  course,  a  factor  which  is 
present  from  the  lowest  chest  to  the  highest  head 
note.  To  raise  the  pitch,  the  expiratory  blast  must 
be  increased,  for,  as  we  have  seen,  the  pitch  of  the 
tone  depends  upon  the  strength  of  the  expiratory 
pressure,  whether  the  increased  pressure  be  pro- 
duced by  pain  or  intentionally,  for  the  purpose  of 
creating  a  higher  tone.  This  is  Meyer's  *  opinion, 
and,  though  he  is  contradicted  by  Morell  Mac- 


ANATOMY  AND  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  THE  LARYNX.     43 

kenzie,*  we  are  inclined  to  believe  that  he  IB 
right  in  his  statement.  In  this  connection,  Meyer 
calls  attention  to  the  fact  that  the  voice  of  a  per- 
son speaking  in  violent  anger  will  often  rise 
suddenly  to  an  exceedingly  high  pitch.  The  con- 
stant use,  moreover,  of  a  very  strong  ^blast,  as  in 
forcing  high  notes,  causes  singers  to  lose  the  power 
of  modulation,  and  turns  their  notes  into  a  scream. 
This  is  the  complaint  made  against  so  many  Wag- 
nerian  singers,  and,  as  we  know,  with  many  persons 
the  singing  of  Wagner's  music  is  synonymous  with 
screaming  and  forcing  the  voice.  Apropos  of 
this  fact,  Morell  Mackenzie  says  :  f  "  It  is  a  mis- 
take to  suppose  that  Wagner's  style  is  more  inju- 
rious to  the  voice  than  that  of  other  masters.  To 
say  that  Wagner's  method  of  treating  the  voice  is 
part  of  a  general  design,  or  that  his  demand  for 
great  declamatory  emphasis  destroys  the  vocal  or- 
gans, seems  to  be  absolute  nonsense.  It  is  also  a 
mistake  to  say  that  Wagner  drowns  the  voice  with 
the  orchestra."  The  truth  is,  the  break-up  of  the 
voice  of  so  many  Wagnerian  singers  arises  pri- 
marily from  a  bad  method  of  singing,  and  the  con- 
sequent overstraining  and  forcing  of  the  voice. 

We  have  seen  that  a  certain  point  is  reached  in 

*  Hygiene  of  the  Vocal  Organs,  London,  1888.       f  Loc.'cit. 


44  VOICE   BUILDING. 

the  production  of  the  chest  notes,  where  to  go 
higher  in  the  scale  a  rearrangement  of  the  muscles 
and  cartilages  of  the  larynx  is  necessary ;  in  other 
words,  to  go  from  the  highest  chest  to  the  head 
or  falsetto  notes  a  change  in  the  mechanism  of 
producing  the  tones  is  necessary,  and  many,  or  all, 
of  the  previously  relaxed  muscles  suddenly  contract, 
as  is  shown  by  the  closing  of  the  crico-thyroid 
space  as  we  pass  from  one  register  to  another.  In 
the  production  of  the  falsetto  register  the  centre  of 
vibration  is  much  further  forward  than  in  the 
higher  normal  register.  Many  artists  by  trying  a 
falsetto  note  are  able  to  determine  from  the  timbre 
of  this  single  note  whether  they  are  in  good  voice  or 
not.  We  invariably  find  that,  when  it  is  impos- 
sible for  them  to  sing  the  falsetto,  the  anterior 
commissure  and  that  part  of  the  cords  immediately 
connected  with  it  are  out  of  condition.  In  many 
text-books  it  is  stated  that  the  falsetto  voice  is 
dependent  upon  the  approximation  of  the  false 
vocal  cords,  that  is,  of  the  ventricular  bands.  We 
know  that  in  a  close  approximation  of  the  glottis 
there  is  a  narrowing  of  the  ventricular  bands,  and 
that  they  add  as  resonators  some  acoustic  prop- 
erty to  the  tone,  but  that  the  fundamental  tone  is 
produced  by  the  false  vocal  cords  is  absurd.  In 
the  production  of  the  falsetto  voice  the  cartilagi- 


ANATOMY  AND  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  THE  LARYNX.     ±5 

nous  glottis  is  tightly  closed  and  the  posterior  portion 
of  the  cords  immediately  in  front  of  the  arytenoids 
is  brought  tightly  together,  the  superior  cavity  of 
the  larynx  being  narrowed  by  the  action  of  the 
constrictor  muscles,  and  there  is  an  increase  in 
tension,  the  strings  becoming  much  shorter  and 
tenser,  and,  with  the  accompanying  tensing  of  all 
the  tensor-muscles  of  the  larynx,  the  limit  of  vocal 
pitch  is  reached. 

The  above  would  seem  to  be  a  plausible  explan- 
ation of  the  action  of  the  intrinsic  muscles  of  the 
larynx.  Some  anatomists  hold  that  the  thyro-aryt- 
enoid  muscles  tense,  others  that  they  relax  the 
vocal  cords.  It  is  plain,  however,  that  without 
other  resultant  forces  the  action  of  the  muscles, 
especially  of  the  internal  fibres,  would  be  to  relax 
the  cord,  but  we  do  not  doubt  that  their  action  is 
counterbalanced  by  the  downward  excursion  of  the 
vocal  processes.  Hence  we  would  consider  the 
function  of  the  thyro-arytenoids  to  be  entirely  the 
production  of  a  suitable  enlargement  or  contraction 
of  the  edge  of  the  vibrating  plates,  and  that  they 
have  little,  if  anything,  to  do  with  the  tension  of 
the  vocal  cords,  but  act  to  render  them  thicker  or 
thinner  as  the  exigencies  of  pitch  require.  The  in- 
trinsic movements  of  the  vocal  cords  will  be  fully 
described  in  the  chapter  on  Registers. 


CHAPTEK  III. 

RESPIRATION. 

THE  motive  power,  or  air  blast,  which  sets  the 
vocal  cords  in  vibration  is  supplied  by  the  lungs, 
two  large  sacs  lying  in  the  thoracic  cavity.  To 
these  sacs  the  air  is  conveyed  through  a  series  of 
passages.  Entering  the  pharynx  by  way  of  the 
nostrils  or  mouth,  it  passes  downward  through  the 
larynx,  and  from  this  to  the  trachea,  or  windpipe, 
which  on  reaching  the  chest  cavity  divides  into  a 
right  and  left  bronchus.  Each  bronchus  is  then 
subdivided  into  smaller  and  smaller  bronchi,  called 
bronchial  tubes,  within  the  lung  on  its  own  side, 
the  smallest  bronchial  tubes  ending  in  sacculated 
dilatations,  the  alveoli  of  the  lungs  or  air  cells. 

On  the  walls  of  the  air  cells,  a  delicate  network 
of  blood  vessels,  the  capillaries,  ramify,  and  it  is 
here  that  the  vital  part  of  the  respiratory  process, 
the  purification  of  the  blood,  takes  place.  This 
consists  essentially  in  an  exchange  of  gases  between 
the  blood  and  the  air,  the  blood  yielding  up  some 

•4* 


RESPIRATION.  47 

of  the  waste  matter  of  the  system  in  the  form  of 
carbonic  acid,  and  receiving  in  return  a  fresh 
supply  of  oxygen. 

The  air  thus  taken  into  the  lungs  soon  becomes 
laden  with  carbonic  acid  gas,  and  loses  much  of  its 
oxygen.  This  interchange  takes  place  for  the  most 
part  in  the  deep  recesses  of  the  alveoli  which  are 
remote  from  the  exterior  air,  only  communicating 
with  it  through  a  long  series  of  narrow  tubes. 
The  alveolar  air  could  thus  be  renewed  but  slowly 
were  it  to  depend  alone  upon  gaseous  diffusion 
through  these  long  air  passages.  That  the  process 
is  not  rapid  enough  to  meet  the  requirements  of 
the  body  is  readily  proved  by  the  feeling  of  suffo- 
cation which  follows  holding  the  breath  for  a  short 
tune.  Mature,  however,  provides  against  this  dan- 
ger by  adding  a  respiratory  mechanism  to  the 
lungs,  by  which  the  air  within  them  is  periodically 
mixed  with  fresh  air  taken  from  the  outside,  while 
the  air  in  the  air  cells  is  stirred  so  as  to  bring  fresh 
layers  of  it  in  contact  with  the  walls  of  the  alveoli. 
The  mixing  is  brought  about  by  the  breathing 
movements,  consisting  of  regularly  alternating  in- 
spirations during  which  the  chest  cavity  is  enlarged 
and  fresh  air  enters  the  lungs,  and  expirations, 
during  which  the  cavity  is  diminished  and  air  ex- 
pelled, 


48  VOICE  BUILDING. 

The  chest,  in  fact,  acts  very  much  as  a  bellows. 
When  the  bellows  is  opened  air  enters,  in  conse- 
quence of  the  rarefaction  of  that  in  the  interior 
which  is  expanding  to  fill  the  larger  space ;  and 
when  the  bellows  is  closed  again,  the  air  is  ex- 
pelled by  contraction.  To  make  the  bellows  quite 
like  the  lungs  we  must,  however,  have  but  one 
opening  in  it — that  of  the  nozzle — for  both  the  entry 
and  exit  of  the  air ;  and  this  opening  should  lead, 
not  directly  into  the  bellows  cavity,  but  into  an 
elastic  bag,  filling  it,  and  tied  to  the  inner  end  of 
the  nozzle  pipe.  This  bag  would  represent  the 
lungs,  and  the  space  between  it  and  the  inside  of 
the  bellows  the  pleural  cavities.  It  is  in  their 
capacity  as  bellows  of  the  vocal  apparatus,  and 
also  as  a  resonator  in  the  chest  cavity  itself,  that 
we  are  chiefly  interested  in  the  lungs. 

The  chest,  or  thoracic  cavity,  has  a  conical  form, 
its  apex  being  turned  upward.  In  front,  behind, 
and  on  the  sides,  it  is  supported  by  the  rigid 
framework  afforded  by  the  spinal  column,  the  breast 
bone,  and  the  ribs.  Between  and  over  these  lie 
muscles,  and  the  whole  is  covered  on  the  outside 
by  the  skin,  and  on  the  inside  by  the  parietal  layers 
of  the  pleura.  Above,  the  aperture  opens  into  the 
cavity  of  the  larynx ;  below,  it  is  bounded  by  the 
diaphragm,  which  forms  a  movable  bottom  to  the 


RESPIRATION.  49 

otherwise  tolerably  rigid  box.  In  inspiration  the 
box  is  increased  in  all  its  diameters,  i.  e.,  antero- 
posterior,  lateral,  and  vertical. 

The  air  taken  into  the  lungs  in  inspiration  dis- 
tends the  air  cells,  and  is  driven  out  again  mainly  by 
the  contraction  of  the  elastic  walls  of  the  cells 
themselves,  and  the  passive  reaction  of  the  dia- 
phragm and  chest  walls.  Inspiration,  or,  in  other 
words,  enlargement  of  the  chest,  is  a  more  complex 
act,  and  may  be  brought  about  in  several  different 
ways. 

We  shall  first  see  how  the  enlargement  of  the 
chest  in  its  different  diameters  is  brought  about  in 
what  we  understand  as  normal  breathing,  and  how 
these  movements  are  modified  in  the  act  of  speak- 
ing or  singing. 

The  vertical  enlargement  of  the  thorax  is  caused 
by  the  contraction  of  the  diaphragm,  a  thin,  sheet- 
like  muscle,  with  a  fibrous  membrane  in  its  centre 
that  serves  as  a  tendon.  In  rest,  the  diaphragm  is 
dome-shaped,  its  convexity  being  directed  upward. 
From  the  tendon  on  the  crown  of  the  dome,  mus- 
cular fibres  radiate  downward  and  outward  to  all 
sides,  and  are  fixed  by  their  inferior  ends  to  the 
lower  ribs,  the  breast  bone,  and  the  vertebral  col- 
umn. 

In  inspiration,  the  muscular  fibres  of  the  dia- 


50  VOICE  BUILDING. 

phragm  are  shortened,  flattening  the  dome,  and  so 
enlarging  the  thoracic  cavity.  The  contraction  of 
the  diaphragm  thus  greatly  increases  the  size  of  the 
thorax  chamber,  by  adding  to  its  lowest  and  widest 
part.  The  lungs,  always  in  contact  with  the  walls 
of  the  thorax,  follow  this  expansion,  and  their  ca- 
pacity is  increased. 

The  antero-posterior  diameter  of  the  chest  box 
is  enlarged  in  inspiration  by  the  raising  of  the 
breast  bone,  and  with  it  the  sternal  ends  of  the  ribs 
attached  to  it,  and  so  the  distance  between  the 
sternum  and  vertebral  column  is  increased.  This 
inspiratory  elevation  of  the  ribs  is  mainly  due  to 
the  action  of  the  scalene  and  external  intercostal 
muscles.  The  former  (three  on  each  side)  arise 
from  the  vertebrae  of  the  upper  or  neck  portion  of 
the  spinal  column,  and  are  inserted  in  the  upper  ribs. 
The  external  intercostals  lie  between  the  ribs,  and  ex- 
tend from  the  vertebral  column  to  the  costal  carti- 
lages, their  fibres  sloping  downward  and  forward. 
During  an  inspiration  the  scalene  muscles  contract 
and  fix  the  upper  ribs  firmly,  and  thus,  when  the  ex- 
ternal intercostal  muscles  contract,  the  upper  rib  be- 
ing fixed,  the  lower  rib  is  pulled  up  and  not  the  upper 
down.  In  this  way  the  lower  ribs  are  raised  much 
more  than  the  upper,  for  the  whole  external  inter- 
costal muscles  on  one  side  may  be  regarded  as  one 


RESPIRATION.  51 

great  muscle,  and  when  the  whole  muscular  sheet  is 
fixed  above,  and  contracts,  it  is  clear  that  its  lower 
end  will  be  raised  more  than  any  intermediate 
point.  The  elevation  of  the  ribs  tends  to  diminish 
the  vertical  diameter  of  the  chest ;  this,  however,  is 
more  than  compensated  for  by  the  simultaneous 
descent  of  the  diaphragm. 

Finally,  the  enlargement  of  the  chest  is  some- 
what due  to  the  diaphragm,  which,  as  we  have  seen, 
when  it  contracts,  adds  to  the  lowest  and  widest 
part  of  the  chest  cavity.  A  lateral  excursion  is, 
however,  brought  about  by  the  rotation  of  some 
of  the  middle  ribs  at  their  articulation  with  the 
spine.  Rotation  at  this  point  has  the  effect  of 
raising  and  turning  outward  the  curved  part  of 
the  rib. 

In  the  inspiratory  act  the  lungs  are  entirely 
passive,  simply  following  the  dilatation  of  the  chest, 
brought  about  in  the  manner  just  described ;  in  ex- 
piration, on  the  other  hand,  the  active  role  is  taken 
by  the  lungs,  little,  if  any,  muscular  effort  being 
needed.  As  soon  as  the  muscles  which  have  raised 
the  ribs  and  the  sternum  relax,  these  tend  to  return 
to  their  natural,  unconstrained  position  of  rest.  By 
these  means  the  chest  cavity  is  restored  to  its  origi- 
nal capacity,  and  the  air  expelled  from  the  lungs, 
rather  by  means  of  the  contractility  of  the  parts, 


52  VOICE  BUILDING. 

which  were  stretched  in  inspiration,  than  by  any 
special  expiratory  muscles. 

When  a  very  deep  breath  is  drawn,  or  expelled, 
a  great  many  muscles  take  part  in  the  respiratory 
movements,  and  expiration  becomes  an  actively  mus- 
cular act.  The  main  expiratory  muscles  are  the  in- 
ternal intercostals,  which  lie  beneath  the  external 
intercostals,  between  each  pair  of  ribs,  and  have  a 
different  direction,  their  fibres  running  upward  and 
forward. 

Forced  expiration  is  accomplished  in  this  man- 
ner :  First,  the  lower  ribs  are  fixed  or  slightly  pulled 
down,  by  muscles  situated  in  the  abdominal  wall, 
arising  from  the  pubis,  and  attached  to  the  ribs  and 
sternum;  then,  the  internal  intercostals,  also  con- 
tracting, complete  the  process  of  pulling  down  the 
ribs,  and  so  diminish  the  chest  cavity.  At  the  same 
time,  the  contracted  abdominal  muscles  press  the 
walls  of  the  abdominal  cavity  against  the  viscera, 
and  pressure  upward  is  transmitted  to  the  dia- 
phragm, assisting  to  diminish  the  vertical  diameter 
of  the  chest. 

In  violent  inspiration,  as  in  expiration,  many 
other  muscles  are  brought  into  play,  and  are  known 
as  the  extraordinary  muscles  of  respiration. 

RESPIRATORY  TYPES. — Many  authors  endeavour 
to  draw  distinctions  between  three  methods  of  what 


RESPIRATION.  53 

we  may  call  normal  breathing.  As  a  matter  of  fact, 
the  clavicular,  the  abdominal,  and  the  costal  types 
run  imperceptibly  into  one  another,  and  it  is  a  mis- 
take to  attribute  one  method  exclusively  to  men 
and  one  to  women.  Suffice  it  here  to  say  that,  in 
both  sexes,  diaphragmatic  breathing  is  the  most  im- 
portant ;  but,  as  a  rule,  men  and  children  use  the 
tipper  ribs,  or  superior  costal  breathing,  less  than 
adult  women. 

That  the  costal  type  of  breathing  as  used  by 
women  of  civilized  races  is  largely  the  result  of  the 
corset  and  tight  lacing,  is  more  than  likely.  May,* 
of  Philadelphia,  took  tracings  of  the  respiratory 
movements  of  eighty-five  women,  from  ten  to 
twenty-two  years  of  age,  six  belonging  to  a  non  or 
partially  civilized  race.  Thirty -three  were  of  pure 
Indian  blood,  thirty-five  of  mixed  blood.  Sixty- 
nine  of  the  eighty -five  showed  a  so-called  abdominal 
respiration.  The  remainder,  all  of  whom  showed 
a  greater  or  less  tendency  to  the  costal  type  of 
breathing,  belonged  to  relatively  civilized  races. 

Proper  management  of  the  breath  being  a  fun- 
damental condition  of  good  singing,  it  is  of  the 
utmost  importance  that  the  proper  method  of 
breathing  be  taught,  and  it  is  our  purpose  to  show 


*  Journal  of  Physiology,  March,  1890. 
5 


54  VOICE  BUILDING. 

how  fallacious  are  many  of  the  methods  now  used 
in  teaching  voice  production,  and  to  what  extent 
founded  on  preconceived  or  misconceived  ideas. 

In  the  first  place,  the  direction  so  often  given 
the  pupil  in  singing,  to  breathe  "  naturally,"  is,  to 
say  the  least,  misleading ;  for,  to  get  the  best  effects 
in  voice  production,  the  normal,  natural  method  of 
breathing  does  not  suffice. 

Ordinary  breathing  has  for  its  end  purely  and 
simply  the  physiological  function  of  purifying  the 
blood ;  and  it  is  insufficient  for  singing,  which  re- 
quires an  increased  chest  capacity,  an  increased 
volume  of  inspired  air,  as  well  as  a  carefully  co-or- 
dinated management  of  the  chest  muscles  and  of 
the  diaphragm,  that  the  exit  and  pressure  of  the 
expired  air  may  be  regulated.  All  this  requires  the 
cultivation,  not  of  natural,  but  of  artistic  breathing ; 
and  to  this  end  the  pupil  should  be  taught  how 
and  when  to  take  the  air  into  his  lungs,  and  how  to 
control  and  direct  the  outflow  when  emptying  them. 
This,  as  Mackenzie  says,  is  really  one  of  the 
most  difficult  things  in  the  whole  art  of  singing, 
but  it  must  be  mastered,  at  whatever  cost.  Wrong 
breathing  must  be  corrected.  It  is,  of  course,  more 
generally  found  among  women  than  men,  owing  to 
the  fact  that  the  proper  action  of  a  woman's  dia- 
phragm is  impaired  by  the  pressure  of  tight  stays. 


RESPIRATION.  55 

Regular  exercises  in  respiration  should  be  practised. 
The  act  should  be  performed  naturally,  quietly,  and 
at  regular  intervals,  care  being  taken  that  the  collar 
bone  does  not  rise  to  any  perceptible  extent  while 
the  lungs  are  being  expanded.  Both  inspiration 
and  expiration  should  be  practised  so  as  to  ade- 
quately fill  and  empty  the  chest  with  the  least  visi- 
ble effort,  and  to  take  the  breath,  in  speaking  or 
singing,  without  noticeable  interruption  of  the 
phrase.  On  the  other  hand,  the  pupil  must  strive 
to  gain  as  much  control  as  possible  over  the  expira- 
tory process,  so  as  to  "  mould  the  issuing  stream  of 
air  to  any  shape,"  and  regulate  its  volume  and  force, 
that  none  of  it  may  escape  uselessly. 

The  breathing  capacity  may  be  increased  by 
proper  exercises,  such  as  walking,  running,  fenc- 
ing, swimming,  dumb-bells,  etc.  The  "  vital  ca- 
pacity "  of  the  lungs — that  is,  the  greatest  quantity 
of  air  which  can  be  expelled  from  the  lungs  by  a 
forced  expiration,  after  the  deepest  possible  in- 
spiration— may  be  very  greatly  increased  by  such 
regular  exercises,  and  we  may  finally  reach  in 
artistic  respiration  a  point  where  costal  muscles 
play  no  secondary  role  in  chest  enlargement,  but 
contribute  equally  with  the  diaphragm  to  that  end. 
In  many  cases  of  observation  upon  our  very  best 
singers,  it  is  interesting  to  note  the  changes  which 


56  VOICE    lU'ILDIXO. 

take  place  in  the  lower  abdominal  wall,  as  a  result 
of  respiratory  method  and  experience. 

The  conclusions  arrived  at  from  many  such  in- 
vestigations go  far  to  prove  the  fallacy  of  teaching 
so-called  abdominal  respiration  to  singers.  Where- 
as in  normal  respiration  the  pressure  exercised  by 
the  contracting  diaphragm  pushes  out  the  entire 
abdominal  wall,  the  singer  who  employs  all  the 
resources  of  his  art  to  enlarge  the  chest  never- 
theless retracts  the  lower  abdominal  wall  in  taking 
a  deep  inspiration,  in  order  to  maintain  a  better 
control  of  the  expiratory  act. 

The  increase  in  all  the  diameters  of  the  chest 
which  follows  regular  practice  and  exercise  in  the 
many  ways  Nature  indicates  for  this  purpose,  and 
the  consequent  gain  in  the  vital  capacity  of  the 
lungs,  should  of  itself  prevent  the  arbitrary  order 
of  any  instructor  to  his  pupil  to  breathe  by  any 
one  muscle  or  set  of  muscles  alone. 

This  brings  us  to  the  various  methods  of  breath- 
ing taught  by  different  masters  of  singing. 

We  have  already  seen  that  in  normal  breathing 
there  are  three  different  ways  in  which  the  respira- 
tory act  may  be  carried  out.  The  methods  of 
breathing,  employed  in  voice  production  may  be 
likened  in  their  analogy  to  them,  and  so  con- 
sidered. 


RESPIRATION.  57 

For  our  purposes,  we  have  preferred  to  divide 
these  methods  of  breathing  into — 1.  The  superior 
costal  or  clavicular.  2.  The  abdominal.  3.  The 
inferior  costal  or  diaphragmatic. 

The  superior  costal  may  be  illustrated  as  the 
breathing  of  a  woman  tightly  laced,  the  respiratory 
expansion  taking  place  chiefly,  if  not  entirely,  in  the 
upper  part  of  the  thorax,  the  upper  ribs,  collar 
bone,  and  sternum  rising  and  falling  during  the  re- 
spiratory act. 

In  the  true  abdominal  type  the  thorax  is  sup- 
posed to  remain  completely  fixed,  the  diaphragm 
taking  the  ribs  as  a  fixed  point,  contracting  to  its 
greatest  extent  and  pushing  down  the  abdominal 
viscera  and  so  distending  considerably  the  entire 
abdominal  wall. 

In  the  inferior  costal  type,  on  the  other  hand, 
the  inferior  ribs  (commencing  with  the  seventh) 
are  rotated  and  elevated,  the  sternum  rising  in  its 
inferior  portion  only,  the  diaphragm  becoming  flat- 
tened, and  the  lower  abdominal  wall  being  con- 
tracted during  the  inspiratory  act. 

These  three  methods  of  breathing  have  been 
the  source  of  much  bitter  discussion  on  the  part  of 
those  advocating  one  or  the  other  of  them  as  the 
only  proper  method  of  respiration  for  singers. 

The  old  Italian  masters  taught  that,  in  inspira- 


58  VOICE  BUILDING. 

tion,  the  anterior  abdominal  wall  should  be  slightly 
drawn  in — that  is,  they  in  reality  advocated  an  in- 
ferior costal  type  of  respiration,  recognizing,  prob- 
ably, the  fact  that,  when  a  very  great  and  sudden 
effort  is  made,  the  abdominal  wall  is  drawn  in  dur- 
ing the  respiratory  act,  this  position  giving  more 
complete  control  over  the  whole  act,  but  especially 
over  expiration,  and  thus  preventing  waste  of  air. 
Later,  Mengozzi,*  together  with  the  masters  of 
one  of  the  conservatories,  determined  upon  the  fol- 
lowing rules,  illustrative  of  breathing,  for  singers : 
"  The  respiratory  act  in  singing  differs  somewhat 
from  that  used  in  speaking.  In  speaking,  the  ab- 
domen is  extended  in  inspiration,  and  recedes  in 
expiration,  while  in  singing  the  abdomen  must  be 
drawn  in  during  inspiration,  returning  slowly  to  its 
natural  state  as  the  chest  contracts  in  expiration, 
thus  retaining  as  a  negative  force  the  air  which  has 
been  introduced  into  the  lungs." 

In  1855,  however,  Mandl  published  in  the 
Gazette  Medicale  his  celebrated  article,  in  which 
he  opposed  this  method  of  breathing  on  anatomical 
grounds,  maintaining  that  the  descent  of  the  dia- 
phragm was  facilitated  by  allowing  the  abdominal 
walls  to  be  flaccid,  and  pushed  out  as  far  as  pos- 

*  La  Respiration,  Dans  le  Chant,  Paris,  1894. 


RESPIRATION.  59 

Bible  in  inspiration.  Mandl  carried  his  point,  and 
his  method  was  almost  universally  adopted,  and  in 
the  Methode  du  Conservatoire,  published  in  1866, 
Mandl  himself  was  allowed  to  sing  the  praises  of 
his  theory.  Massini,  in  Italy,  adopted  and  taught 
the  abdominal  type,  and  to  such  an  extent  did  this 
fad  obtain  that,  according  to  Joal,*  instruments  of 
torture  almost  were  invented  to  assist  the  unfor- 
tunate pupils  in  developing  this  method.  From 
that  time  it  has  been  advocated  by  men  of  author- 
ity and  taught  by  many  teachers  of  the  art  of  sing- 
ing. Obin  and  Faure,  for  example,  speak  most 
highly  of  it.  The  famous  Lamperti  is  often  repre- 
sented as  an  advocate  of  the  abdominal  method  of 
breathing ;  but  we  think  wrongly,  for,  having 
treated  many  of  the  elder  Lamperti' s  pupils,  and 
interrogated  them  very  particularly  upon  this 
question,  we  may  unhesitatingly  affirm  that  the 
elder  Lamperti  was  a  strong  advocate  of  the 
lower  costal  respiration,  always  arguing  that  the 
abdominal  wall  should  remain  quiet,  or  be  slightly 
drawn  in,  during  inspiration.  The  evidence  of 
Campanini,  Jean  de  Reszke,  and  Clara  Heyen  is 
in  support  of  the  above. 

Notwithstanding  all   that  has   been  written  in 

*  Joal,  Revue  de  Laryngologie,  Nos.  8,  9,  and  10,  Paris,  1892. 


60  VOICE  BUILDING. 

favour  of  this  method  of  breathing,  we  propose  to 
show  that  the  abdominal  as  well  as  the  superior 
costal  is  wrong,  both  in  conception  and  practice. 

We  shall  consider  these  various  types  of  breath- 
ing somewhat  in  detail,  for  it  seems  to  us  of 
paramount  importance  that  speakers  and  singers 
should  be  better  made  to  understand  the  enormous 
influence  a  correct  method  of  breathing,  combined 
with  a  correct  position  of  the  vocal  cords  in  singing, 
exert  not  only  upon  the  present  production,  but 
upon  the  future  preservation  of  the  voice. 

SUPERIOR  COSTAL  RESPIRATION. — Mandl,  in  mak- 
ing out  his  case  for  abdominal  respiration,  wrote 
with  great  emphasis  on  the  evils  which  resulted 
from  the  superior  costal  method  of  breathing.  He 
claimed  that  all  the  muscles  concerned  were  greatly 
fatigued  in  this  respiratory  act ;  that  the  larynx 
was  pulled  down,  and  the  slit  of  the  glottis  widened, 
making  the  production  of  a  note  doubly  difficult, 
and  leading  first  to  a  great  congestion,  and,  later, 
to  atrophy  of  the  parts,  etc. ;  all  of  which  was 
founded  on  false  anatomical  and  physiological 
data.  The  truth  is,  that  the  superior  costal  method 
of  breathing  does  not  necessarily  lead  either  to 
great  good  or  to  great  harm  in  voice  production. 
The  mere  fact,  however,  that  in  this  method  a 
much  smaller  amount  of  air  can  be  inspired,  since 


RESPIRATION.  61 

the  movement  is  limited  to  the  cone  of  the  chest, 
where  all  its  diameters  are  smallest,  is  in  itself,  we 
hold,  an  all-sufficient  reason  for  not  using  the 
method,  except,  of  course,  as  an  adjunct  to  the 
larger  and  more  profound  inspirations  produced  in 
the  inferior  costal  type.  Finally,  Joal  says  that,  if 
we  except  Laget  and  Bonheur,  superior  costal 
breathing  for  men  is  condemned  by  all  authors. 
On  the  other  hand,  it  has  been  recommended  for 
female  singers,  notably  by  Hamonic,*  on  the 
ground  that  the  sexual  organs  in  women  are  likely 
to  be  compressed  and  pushed  out  of  place  if  they 
practise  abdominal  breathing.  This  observation 
has  been  often  advanced  as  an  argument  against 
abdominal  breathing,  and  perhaps  with  some  justice. 
ABDOMINAL  RESPIRATION. — In  abdominal  res- 
piration a  considerably  larger  amount  of  air  may 
be  drawn  into  the  lungs  than  in  the  type  we  have 
just  been  discussing,  for  the  entire  chest  is  en- 
larged in  its  vertical  diameter.  This  fact  has  been 
proved  by  both  Lennox  Browne  f  and  Joal,  :f  by 
spirometric  tracings  taken  upon  a  number  of  people. 
While  a  distinctly  better  type  of  breathing  than 
the  costal,  the  same  objection,  though  in  a  lesser 

*  Manuel  du  Chanteur,  Paris,  1888. 
t  British  Laryngological  Society,  March,  1892. 
Loc.  cit. 


62  VOICE  BUILDING. 

degree,  may  be  urged  against  it,  namely,  that  it  is 
at  best  a  partial  respiration  only ;  it  is  respiration 
produced  by  but  one  of  the  several  means  we  have 
at  our  disposal  for  enlarging  the  capacity  of  the 
chest  on  inspiration,  and  of  controlling  the  outflow 
of  the  inspired  air. 

The  inferior  ribs,  by  whose  movement,  as  we 
have  shown,  the  antero-posterior  and  lateral  dimen- 
sions of  the  chest  are  so  much  increased,  remain 
almost  immobile,  and  the  relaxed  abdominal  mus- 
cles are  in  a  condition  to  greatly  hinder  a  co-ordi- 
nated, well-controlled  expiration.  Mandl  laid  great 
emphasis  on  the  point  that  in  this  method  of 
breathing  the  movement  of  the  abdominal  muscles 
themselves,  to  a  large  extent,  brought  about  the 
vertical  enlargement  of  the  chest,  the  diaphrag- 
matic movement  being  to  a  certain  extent  passive, 
and  following  the  downward  displacement  of  the 
abdominal  viscera,  and  there  was  consequently 
little  if  any  fatigue  of  the  diaphragm  or  of  the  ex- 
ternal intercostal  muscles.  The  assumed  prevention 
of  fatigue  to  these  muscles  was  perhaps  the  most 
important  factor  in  the  good  results  which  he 
claimed  came  from  his  method. 

Why  this  should  be  an  argument  in  favour  of 
abdominal  breathing  we  fail  to  see.  The  various 
muscles  controlling  respiration,  like  our  other 


RESPIRATION.  63 

muscles,  were  given  us  for  use,  and  we  know  full 
well  that  it  is  only  by  constant  and  judicious  exer- 
cise that  any  muscle  or  set  of  muscles  can  be  made 
to  produce  the  best  results,  whether  they  are  used  in 
propelling  a  boat  or  in  producing  vocal  tones. 

Furthermore,  that  the  chest  may  take  in  the 
largest  amount  of  air  possible,  and  that  it  may  be 
the  sounding  board  and  resonator  Nature  intended, 
it  must  be  enlarged  in  inspiration,  in  all  its  diame- 
ters, and  not  in  one  direction  only,  which  is  practi- 
cally the  case  in  abdominal  respiration. 

Finally,  the  pressure  brought  to  bear  on  the  pel- 
vic organs  in  this  method  may  be,  as  Joal  remarks, 
the  point  of  departure  for  pathological  changes  in 
these  organs,  and  he  gives  two  instances  in  com- 
paratively young  girls  where  serious  trouble  was 
brought  on  by  the  excessive  practice  of  the  abdom- 
inal method  of  breathing,  and  cites  that  the  symp- 
toms were  at  once  relieved  by  changing  the  method 
of  respiration.  Dr.  Wing,*  of  Boston,  has  had  a 
like  experience  of  the  evil  effects  of  this  pernicious 
method. 

INFERIOR  COSTAL  AND  DIAPHRAGMATIC  KESPI- 
RATION. — We  use  this  mixed  term  to  describe  a 
more  or  less  general  respiration,  in  which  all  the 

*  Boston  Medical  and  Surgical  Journal,  1880. 


64  VOICE  BUILDING. 

external  intercostal  muscles,  as  well  as  the  dia- 
phragm, are  brought  into  play.  We  say  advisedly, 
all  the  external  intercostals,  for  it  is  our  practice 
in  this  method  to  have  the  subject  first  raise  as 
far  as  possible,  by  muscular  effort,  the  upper  chest, 
which  is  then  kept  ostensibly  fixed,  in  inspiration 
and  in  expiration.  The  thoracic  cavity  is  then 
enlarged  in  the  transverse,  antero-posterior,  and 
vertical  diameters,  the  greatest  movement,  how- 
ever, taking  place  at  the  level  of  the  lower  ribs; 
all  but  the  three  or  four  upper  ribs,  nevertheless, 
participate  in  the  excursion,  the  diaphragm  at  the 
same  time  contracting  and  curving  downward,  but 
to  a  less  extent  than  in  purely  abdominal  breathing, 
the  lower  anterior  abdominal  wall,  being  of  course 
drawn  in  during  inspiration,  but  returning  during 
expiration  to  its  normal  position. 

It  has  been  proved  beyond  question  that  the 
amount  of  air  taken  in,  in  this  modification  of  the 
respiratory  act,  is  much  greater  than  by  any  other 
method,  as  evidenced  in  the  experiments  of  Miss 
Pollard*  and  Joal.f  Joal  found  in  the  case  of  a 
number  of  women,  some  of  whom  had  received  and 
some  who  had  not  received  instruction  in  the  art  of 


*  Journal  of  Physiology,  March,  1890. 

f  Revue  de  laryngologie  et  d'otologie.  Bordeaux,  April,  1890. 


RESPIRATION. 


65 


breathing,  a  very  distinct  increase  in  their  lung  ca- 
pacity after  practising  the  inferior  costal  method ; 
they  having,  in  the  first  instance,  used  the  superior 
costal  type.  Again,  taking  a  number  of  men  who 
breathed  naturally — that  is,  with  expansion  of  the 
abdominal  wall  on  inspiration — Joal  found  a  consid- 
erable increase  in  the  amount  of  air  inspired,  on 
compressing  slightly  the  lower 
abdominal  wall  and  having 
them  breathe  by  the  inferior 
costal  method. 

And  again,  taking  a  num- 
ber of  trained  singers  who 
could  use  any  of  the  three 
methods  spoken  of  above,  he 
found  the  amount  of  air  in- 
spired, when  they  used  the 
inferior  costal,  to  be  consider- 
ably greater  than  either  in  the 
superior  costal  or  abdominal 
type. 

We  have  not  thought  it 
necessary,  on  our  own  part,  to  make  any  experi- 
ments on  this  point.  We  were  long  since  convinced 
that  the  inferior  costal  was  the  proper  method  of 
respiration  for  singers  and  voice  users,  but  it  seemed 
to  us  that  the  act  might  be  made  more  general,  more 


FIG.  10.— Fixed  high  chest 
or  modified  inferior  cos- 
tal respiration. 


66  VOICE  BUILDING. 

complete,  by  adding  to  it  the  superior  costal  eleva- 
tion, alluded  to  above ;  for  in  this  manner,  and  in 
this  manner  alone,  are  we  bringing  into  play  every 
muscle  and  every  means  Nature  has  given  us,  not 
only  to  fill  the  lungs,  but  also  to  increase  the  reso- 
nating function  of  the  chest.  We  might  express 
this  better  by  calling  it  the  fixed  high-chest  method, 
or  the  breathing  of  singers. 

By  thus  elevating  the  chest  and  keeping  it  fixed, 
the  apices  of  the  lungs  become  filled  to  their  great- 
est possible  extent  with  air,  while  in  the  excursion 
of  the  lower  ribs  and  diaphragm  during  respiration 
the  antero-posterior  diameter  of  the  upper  chest  re- 
mains a  constant  factor. 

The  thoracic  cavity  then  is  in  a  position  which 
permits  the  lungs  to  expand  to  their  fullest  extent, 
and  a  secondary  resonance  from  below  is  added  to 
the  voice,  a  sort  of  complementary  timbre,  the  fixed 
upper  thorax  allowing  the  least  possible  change  of 
colour  during  tone  production.  "We  know  that  the 
intensity  and  timbre  of  the  voice  is  not  only  depend- 
ent upon  the  vibrations  of  the  vocal  cords,  but  upon 
the  vibrations  of  the  air  in  the  parts  above  and 
below.  With  a  high,  fixed  chest,  we  greatly  add  to 
the  tone  vibrations  in  the  chest  and  accessory  cavi- 
ties of  the  nose  and  mouth,  and  it  is  this  very  in- 
crease and  combination  of  facial  and  thoracic  tone 


RESPIRATION.  67 

fortification,  or  overtone  formation,  which  gives  the 
enormous  carrying  power  to  tones  produced  by  this 
method.  It  will  be  seen  later  how  greatly  this 
method  of  breathing,  combined  with  a  properly 
poised  larynx,  not  only  adds  to  the  beauty  and  the 
preservation  of  the  voice,  but  may  be  the  means  of 
restoring  voices  lost  or  impaired  through  hard  usage, 
and  improper  or  faulty  methods  of  voice  production. 

We  have  thus  far  considered  the  act  of  inspira- 
tion only.  But  we  must  remember  that  it  is  not 
alone  necessary  for  a  singer  to  have  a  larger  quantity 
of  air  than  usual  at  his  disposal,  but  he  must  know 
how  to  use  it  to  the  best  advantage  in  the  production 
of  vocal  tones.  However  abundant  the  supply  of 
air  may  be,  a  short,  jerky  respiration  makes  it  impos- 
sible to  sustain  or  colour  the  phrase ;  and,  as  we  have 
said,  the  control  over  the  expiratory  act  is,  to  say  the 
least,  much  easier  of  attainment  in  the  method  we 
advocate,  where  all  the  muscles  concerned  are  on 
the  alert,  as  it  were,  than  in  either  the  superior  cos- 
tal or  abdominal  methods,  where  the  most  important 
muscles  concerned  in  respiration  are  relaxed  and  off 
their  guard. 

Again,  in  this  method  the  control  of  the  blast  of 
air  in  expiration  is  assisted  by  the  fixation  of  the 
upper  part  of  the  chest.  It  must  be  remembered 
that  these  muscles,  inspiratory  and  expiratory,  must 


68  VOICE  BUILDING. 

be  kept  in  a  condition  of  constant  abeyance  in  sing- 
ing, and  await  the  desired  preponderance  in  the 
action  of  one  or  the  other  at  any  instant ;  that  is, 
their  functional  independence  is,  after  all,  the  secret 
of  vocal  success.  The  position  of  the  diaphragm 
and  of  the  abdominal  walls  in  inferior  costal  respi- 
ration also  assists  in  the  control  of  the  breath.  On 
this  point  Mackenzie  *  says  :  "  When  the  abdomen 
is  drawn  in  in  inspiration,  one  is  to  a  much  greater 
extent  master  of  the  expiratory  act  than  when  the 
diaphragm  is  lowered  and  the  abdominal  wall  ex- 
tended, as  in  abdominal  breathing" — a  point  also 
emphasized  by  Gottfried  Weber,  f 

To-day,  practically  all  authorities — for  we  must 
consider  our  greatest  singers  as  authorities — recom- 
mend the  drawing  in  of  the  abdominal  wall  in  inspi- 
ration, since  it  fixes  the  movable  viscera,  and  so 
makes  a  point  of  vantage  for  the  action  of  the  dia- 
phragm. The  extent  to  which  the  abdominal  wall 
should  be  retracted,  however,  is  a  somewhat  debated 
question.  No  less  an  authority  than  Jean  de  Reszke 
declares  that  the  abdominal  wall  should  be  retracted 
in  its  inferior  portion  only — i.  e.,  as  high  as  the  belt 
— the  pit  of  the  stomach  being  allowed  to  follow  the 


*  Hygiene  of  the  Vocal  Organs,  London,  1888. 
f  Caecilia,  t.  xvii,  1835. 


RESPIRATION.  69 

general  excursion  of  the  diaphragm  and  lower  ribs ; 
and  we  are  not  sure  but  that  his  opinion  on  this 
point  should  be  considered  final.  Pol  Plangon  is  a 
strong  advocate  of  the  type  of  the  breathing  used  by 
Jean  and  Edouard  de  Reszke,  his  perfectly  immobile 
chest  in  difficult  phrasing  being  a  salient  feature  of 
his  style.  In  Melba,  Eames,  and  Nordica  we  see 
types  of  "  high-chest "  breathing.  In  Patti  we  see 
what  a  perfect  vocal  poise  and  admirable  respiratory 
method  will  do  toward  preserving  the  voice. 


CHAPTEE  IV. 

THE    VOCAL    KESONATOK8. 

THE  resonating  cavities  above  the  slit  of  the 
glottis  are  numerous  and  important.  Immediately 
over  the  vocal  cords,  on  either  side  are  two  small 
pouches  whose  edges  form  the  ventricular  bands. 
The  exact  role  played  by  these  pouches  in  the 
production  of  the  human  voice  has  caused  some 
discussion,  but  they  must  certainly  be  included 
among  the  resonators. 

Extending  from  the  larynx  itself  is  a  passage 
known  as  the  pharynx,  which  communicates  above 
with  the  posterior  nares  and  with  the  cavity  of  the 
mouth.  The  communication  between  the  nose  and 
the  pharynx  may  be  entirely  cut  off  by  the  soft 
palate,  when  under  certain  conditions  it  is  raised 
and  pressed  against  the  posterior  wall.  This  posi- 
tion of  the  soft  palate  gives  the  voice  that  peculiar 
and  objectionable  quality  known  as  throatiness,  a 
condition  also  assisted  by  the  posterior  elevation  of 
the  tongue.  Looking  into  the  open  mouth  we  can 

70 


THE  VOCAL  RESONATORS.  71 

see  the  soft  palate,  with  the  uvnla  hanging  down 
vertically,  and  in  its  normal  position,  meeting  the 
posterior  part  of  the  tongue  and  dividing  the 
cavity  of  the  mouth  from  that  of  the  pharynx 
and  posterior  nares.  In  swallowing,  the  uvula  and 
soft  palate  are  drawn  backward  and  upward  until 
they  press  against  the  posterior  wall  of  the  pharynx. 
The  pharyngeal  wall  is  so  modified  as  to  assist  this 
closure,  and  as  the  soft  palate  meets  the  posterior 
wall,  the  back  and  sides  of  the  pharynx  are  pressed 
together  by  the  superior  constrictor  muscle,  whose 
role  is  to  constrict  and  draw  together  the  walls  of 
this  cavity.  The  prolongations  of  the  soft  palate, 
which  are  seen  on  either  side  of  the  interior  of  the 
throat,  are  known  as  the  fauces.  They  are  sharply 
defined  folds  consisting  of  two  ridges,  anterior  and 
posterior.  They  are  known  as  the  pillars  of  the 
fauces,  and  between  them  on  either  side  lies  the 
toDsil.  Each  pillar  contains  a  bundle  of  muscular 
fibres.  The  anterior  one  is  known  as  the  palato- 
glossus  muscle,  which  is  connected  with  the  under 
part  of  the  side  of  the  tongue.  The  posterior  mus- 
cle, known  as  the  palato-pharyngeus,  runs  down- 
ward and  backward,  and  is  attached  partly  to  the 
posterior  and  inner  side  of  the  thyroid  cartilage  and 
partly  to  the  side  of  the  pharynx.  Both  these 
muscles  play  an  important  role  in  voice  production. 


72  VOICE  BUILDING. 

The  tonsils  vary  in  size  in  different  people,  and 
are  sometimes  absent.  Their  existence  in  the  adult 
is  unnecessary,  and  as  they  serve  no  good  purpose, 
they  are  best  removed  if  they  give  the  slightest 
trouble. 

We  have  now  to  deal  with  that  important  reso- 
nance chamber,  the  mouth.  It  is  a  large,  spacious 
cavity,  the  roof  being  formed  by  the  hard  palate. 
The  parts  composing  its  floor  are  soft,  and  only  par- 
tially fixed  by  their  connection  with  the  lower  jaw. 
The  anterior  border  of  the  mouth  is  bounded  by 
the  lips.  A  number  of  muscles,  some  entirely  situ- 
ated within,  and  others  entering  them,  enable  the 
lips  to  assume  different  shapes  and  to  open  and 
shut  in  a  variety  of  ways  and  degrees.  The  pos- 
terior border  of  the  mouth,  as  we  have  seen,  is 
bounded  by  the  soft  palate  and  its  pillars.  The 
interior  of  the  cavity  of  the  mouth  can  be  en- 
larged by  the  depression  of  the  lower  jaw,  and 
modified  in  its  form  by  advancing  the  latter,  and 
also  altered  in  a  great  variety  of  ways,  both  in  form 
and  width,  by  the  activity  of  the  tongue. 

The  remaining  resonating  cavities  with  which 
we  have  to  do  are  those  of  the  nose  and  its  acces- 
sory sinuses.  The  nasal  space  consists  of  two 
cavities,  separated  from  each  other  by  a  partition 
known  as  the  septum.  Its  floor  is  parallel  with 


THE  VOCAL  RESONATORS.  73 

the  long  axis  of  the  mouth,  and  separated  from  it 
by  the  hard  palate.  The  nasal  passages  themselves 
have  their  extent  of  surface  greatly  increased  by 
projections  of  bone,  known  as  the  spongy  or  turbi- 
nate  bones,  three  in  each  passage.  The  mucous 
membrane  covering  these  is  very  vascular,  and  the 
immediate  purpose  of  these  convolutions  is  to  pre- 
sent a  greater  surface  over  which  the  air  may  pass 
on  its  way  to  the  chest  cavity,  and  so  be  tempered, 
and  to  some  extent  filtered  and  saturated  with 
aqueous  vapour,  before  it  passes  to  the  lungs.  The 
heating  function  of  the  nose  is  most  important,  and 
it  is  absolutely  necessary  that  a  singer  should  always 
breathe  easily  through  the  nose,  nothing  interfer- 
ing more  with  the  development  of  the  overtones 
of  the  voice  than  a  thickened  or  catarrhal  con- 
dition of  the  nasal  mucous  membrane. 

On  either  side  of  the  nasal  passages  are  hollow 
spaces  known  as  sinuses,  in  the  bones  of  the  face, 
which  communicate  with  the  nasal  cavity.  These 
spaces  naturally  vary  in  size  in  different  persons, 
and  they  have  much  to  do  with  vocal  resonance. 
There  is  also  a  posterior  or  sphenoidal,  and  two  an- 
terior or  frontal  sinuses,  which  act  as  resonators, 
but  are  not  as  important  as  the  lateral  or  maxillary 
sinuses  called  the  antra. 

We  shall  see  in  a  later  chapter  the  extent  to 


74  VOICE   BUILDING. 

which  a  tone  in  any  musical  instrument  may  be 
modified  and  given  a  particular  quality  by  the  over- 
tones which  are  developed  in  the  sounding  board 
of  the  instrument.  In  a  violin,  for  instance,  it  is 
the  condition  and  elasticity  of  the  wood  and  its 
sounding  board  upon  which  the  development  of  its 
overtones  depend.  The  condition  and  shape  of  the 
resonance  cavities  above  described  give  to  the  hu- 
man voice  a  peculiar  beauty  and  timbre.  It  is 
therefore  plain  that  the  education  of  these  parts 
must  be  very  thorough,  since  the  bad  management 
of  any  one  of  them  will  mar  or  even  destroy  the 
quality  of  a  voice.  It  is  well  known  that  for  every 
tone  there  is  an  air  column  which  most  powerfully 
re-enforces  it,  and  also  that  the  resonator  should  be 
exactly  tuned  to  produce  the  fundamental  note  of 
the  instrument.  In  the  human  voice,  the  string  or 
reed  of  the  musical  instrument  is  represented  by 
the  vocal  ligaments,  and  the  sounding  board  by 
the  cavities  above  and  below  the  glottis,  which 
are  infinitely  more  complicated  in  man  than  in 
any  instrument.  The  timbre  of  the  voice  depends 
on  the  shape  of  the  various  cavities,  and  the  manner 
in  which  they  are  utilized  as  resonators. 

The  size  and  condition  of  the  cartilages  of  the 
larynx  unquestionably  affect  the  quality  of  the  tone, 
this  quality  is  affected  in  some  degree  by  every 


THE   VOCAL  RESONATORS.  75 

new  position  of  the  larynx,  which  shortens  or  length- 
ens the  vocal  tube.  The  position  and  shape  of  the 
lips  and  mouth  have  also  the  greatest  influence  upon 
the  timbre  of  the  voice.  The  mouth  is  another 
important  resonator,  the  pitch  of  which  necessarily 
varies  with  the  changes  which  take  place  in  its 
dimensions.  Each  vowel  sound  has  a  natural  pitch 
of  its  own,  and  there  is  one  position  of  the  various 
parts  which  we  have  been  considering  best  fitted 
for  the  delivery  of  any  given  vowel ;  but  it  goes 
without  saying  that  it  is  only  by  a  skilful  manage- 
ment of  these  parts  that  they  may  be  given  the 
fitting  position  in  every  case ;  that  not  only  may 
purity  of  tone  and  volume  of  sound  be  obtained, 
but  the  timbre  of  the  voice  modified  and  most  pow- 
erfully re-enforced  by  overtones.  Yowel  sounds, 
therefore,  should  be  assiduously  practised  before 
the  glass,  the  position  of  the  lips  and  the  shape  of 
the  mouth  needing  particular  attention,  that  the 
enunciation  may  be  distinct.  Mackenzie  says  in 
this  connection  :  "  Without  an  artistic  enunciation 
sound  loses  one  of  its  greatest  charms.  To  a 
person  of  taste,  a  simple  ballad  sung  with  feeling 
and  clearness  of  utterance  gives  more  delight  than 
the  finest  music  rendered  by  a  voice  which  sounds 
the  notes  but  murders  and  mutilates  the  words." 
He  thinks  English  artists  the  greatest  sinners  in 


76  VOICE  BUILDING. 

this  respect,  and  attributes  it  partly  to  the  promi- 
nence of  consonants  and  closed  vowels  in  our 
language,  and  partly  also  to  the  composer,  who, 
from  ignorance  of  the  laws  of  the  pitch  of  vowels, 
associates  syllables  with  notes  on  which  they  can  not 
be  properly  sounded.  The  artist  naturally  prefers 
to  sacrifice  the  correctness  of  the  vowel  sound 
rather  than  the  purity  of  the  musical  tone.  The 
remedy  for  this,  Mackenzie  thinks,  is  that  music 
should  be  written  with  an  adequate  knowledge  of 
all  the  phonetic  peculiarities  of  the  language  in 
which  it  is  sung,  and  that  composers  should  make 
themselves  acquainted  with  the  capabilities  of  the 
vocal  organs  as  they  do  with  the  peculiarities  of 
other  instruments. 

The  tongue  is  a  very  important  factor  in  the 
changes  which  take  place  in  the  shape  of  the  mouth 
in  speaking  or  singing,  and,  though  difficult  to 
manage,  this  organ  may  be  brought  by  judicious 
training  under  the  direct  influence  of  the  will,  as 
far  as  its  position  is  concerned  in  the  emission  of 
notes.  The  stiffening  of  the  root  of  the  tongue 
and  the  consequent  rigidity  of  the  surrounding 
parts  is  most  destructive  to  purity  of  tone,  and 
should  be  especially  guarded  against. 

Much  has  been  written  on  the  education  of  the 
soft  palate  in  singing,  and  a  great  deal  of  it  in  our 


THE   VOCAL  RESONATORS.  77 

opinion  is  unnecessary.  Speaking  generally,  the 
soft  palate  should  be  kept  in  a  negative  state ;  that 
is,  there  should  be  an  absolute  lack  of  tension  of 
the  muscles  composing  and  surrounding  it,  that  it 
may  properly  perform  its  real  function,  that  of 
tuning  the  resonating  cavities  of  the  mouth  and 
nose ;  in  other  words,  the  veil  of  the  palate  may 
be  considered  a  portiere  which,  at  the  summons  of 
the  resonators,  may  be  drawn  over  the  opening  of 
the  cavity  of  the  mouth  or  nose,  and  so  apportion 
the  sound  waves  to  those  cavities  which  are  best 
calculated  to  re-enforce  the  fundamental  tone  and 
develop  and  make  rich  the  voice  in  overtones. 


CHAPTER  Y. 

TONE    AND    OVERTONES. 

ANY  sensation  or  impression  received  through 
our  organs  of  hearing  is  called  sound,  and  all  sound 
is  the  result  of  molecular  motion.  When  there  is 
an  explosion,  for  instance,  the  air  expands  suddenly 
and  forces  the  surrounding  air  violently  away  on  all 
sides ;  the  resulting  motion  of  the  air  close  to  the 
exploding  body  is  rapidly  imparted  to  that  farther 
off,  the  air  first  set  in  motion  coming  to  a  state  of 
rest.  The  air  at  a  little  distance  passes  its  motion 
on  in  its  turn  to  the  air  at  a  greater  distance,  and 
comes  itself  to  rest.  Thus  each  shell  of  air  takes 
up  the  motion  of  the  shell  next  to  it,  the  motion 
being  propagated  as  a  pulse  or  wave  through  the 
air.  The  motion  of  the  particles  of  air  is  inde- 
pendent of  that  of  the  wave ;  as  the  wave  moves 
forward,  each  particle  makes  its  own  excursion  to 
and  fro.  Alternate  rarefactions  and  condensations 
of  the  air  are  thus  produced  ;  each  condensation, 

together  with  its  corresponding  rarefaction,  forming 

78 


TOXE  AND  OVERTONES.  79 

what  is  known  as  a  sound  wave.  Sound  vibrations 
thus  communicated  to  the  air  in  the  form  of  waves 
strike  the  tympanic  membrane  which  is  stretched 
across  the  passage  leading  from  the  external  air  to 
the  inner  ear,  and  set  this  membrane  into  vibration. 
Its  motion  is,  in  turn,  transmitted  to  the  ends  of 
the  nerve  of  hearing,  and  along  that  nerve  to  the 
brain,  where  the  vibrations  are  translated  into 
sound. 

Sound  vibrations,   however,   may  not  only  be 
heard,  but  may  also  be  seen  and  felt,  as  in  watching 


FIG.  11. 

a  sounding  string  on  which  riders  have  been  placed 
(Figs.  11  and  12),  or  by  drawing  a  bow  over  the 
edge  of  a  plate  of  metal  or  glass  over  which  sand 
has  been  scattered ;  the  sand  is  driven  from  the 
parts  of  the  plate  which  vibrate,  and  collects  along 
certain  stationary  or  nodal  lines.  On  the  other 


80  VOICE  BUILDING. 

hand,  vibrations  may  be  felt  by  gently  touching  a 
sounding  bell  or  a  tuning  fork  which  has  been  set 


FIG.  12. 

vibrating.  Vibrations  can  not  give  rise  to  the  sen- 
sation of  sound  unless  our  organs  of  hearing  are 
thrown  into  sympathetic  vibration,  and  the  air  is 
the  medium  by  which  this  is  accomplished.  A 
bell  suspended  in  a  vacuum  emits  no  sound  when 
struck,  but  as  air  is  admitted  the  sound  is  heard 
becoming  gradually  louder  as  the  air  becomes  denser. 
Waves  of  sound,  as  those  of  light  and  radiant 
heat,  may  be  reflected.  The  ticks  of  a  watch,  held 
in  a  given  place  in  front  of  a  concave  mirror,  will 
be  distinctly  heard  at  the  point  of  focus  of  the 
beams  of  a  candle  held  in  the  same  position  as 
the  watch  (Fig.  13).  This  reflection  of  sound  is 
known  as  an  echo,  which,  under  certain  conditions 
in  Nature,  can  always  be  heard,  provided  we  are 


TONE  AND  OVERTONES.  81 

sufficiently  far  away  to  distinguish  the  echo  from 
the  original.  A  sound  may  be  reflected  several 
times  in  succession,  the  successive  echoes  becoming 
gradually  feebler  to  the  ear.  In  mountain  regions, 
says  Tyndall,  this  repetition  and  decay  of  sound  pro- 
duces wonderful  and  pleasing  effects.  He  instances 
the  fact  that  the  sound  of  an  Alpine  horn  echoed 
from  the  rocks  of  the  Wetterhorn  or  the  Jungfrau 
is,  in  the  first  instance,  heard  as  a  harsh  sound,  but 
by  successive  reflections  the  notes  are  rendered  more 
soft  and  flutelike,  the  gradual  diminution  of  inten- 


Fio.  13. 

sity  giving  the  impression  that  the  source  of  sound 
is  retreating  farther  and  farther  into  the  solitudes 
of  ice  and  snow.* 

*  Sound,  p.  41,  International  Scientific  Series. 


82  VOICE  BUILDING. 

It  is  deeply  interesting  to  note  that  these  won- 
derful little  waves  of  sound  may  not  only  rebound 
from  a  surface  and  come  back  to  our  ears  as  an 
echo,  but  they  can  bend  around  an  obstacle,  and 
diffuse  themselves  at  its  back.  A  striking  example 
of  this  diffraction  of  a  sonorous  wave  was  exhibited 
at  Erith  after  the  tremendous  explosion  of  a  pow- 
der magazine  there  in  1864.  The  village  of  Erith 
was  some  miles  from  the  magazine,  but  many  win- 
dows were  shattered,  and  it  was  noticeable  that 
those  turned  away  from  the  origin  of  the  explosion 
suffered  almost  as  much  as  those  which  faced  it. 
Vibrations  may  be  simple  or  compound.  A  body 
vibrates  simply,  when  it  moves  regularly  from  side 
to  side  as  a  pendulum,  and  hence  pendular  vibra- 
tions. A  vibrating  body  may  execute  several 
eccentric  motions  at  once ;  a  piano  string,  for  in- 
stance, when  struck,  may  vibrate  not  only  up  and 
down,  but  also  from  side  to  side  and  in  segments  at 
the  same  time.  The  result  is  a  series  of  compound 
vibrations.  Compound  tones  are  the  result  of 
compound  vibrations,  and  are  musical  if  the  waves 
proceed  together  with  perfect  regularity.  If,  on 
the  other  hand,  the  waves  of  sound  interfere  with 
one  another,  a  mere  discord  is  produced.  The 
human  ear  has  the  power  of  resolving  compound 
sounds  into  their  component  parts.  It  should  be 


TONE  AND  OVERTONES.  83 

remembered,  however,  that  it  is  not  the  compound 
vibrations  of  the  string  itself,  whether  of  a  harp,  of 
a  lute,  a  piano,  or  a  violin,  that  produce  the  musical 
sound ;  it  is  the  large  surfaces,  or  the  sounding 
boards  with  which  the  strings  are  associated,  and 
the  air  inclosed  by  them,  that  give  forth  the  agree- 
able musical  tones.  The  excellence  of  such  instru- 
ments depends  almost  wholly  on  the  quality  and 
disposition  of  their  sounding  boards,  and  it  can  not 
be  too  forcibly  emphasized  that  this  is  also  the  case 
with  the  human  voice,  whose  quality  so  greatly 
depends  upon  the  condition  and  management  of 
the  resonance  chambers,  above  and  below  the  slit 
of  the  glottis. 

We  have  alluded  to  the  fact  that  a  string  may 
be  made  to  vibrate  in  segments  (Fig.  14).  If  a 
stretched  string  is  plucked  at  its  middle  point  the 
sound  heard  is  the  fundamental  or  lowest  note  of 
the  string,  to  produce  which  it  must  swing  as  a 
whole  to  and  fro.  Place  a  movable  bridge  under 
the  middle  of  the  string,  thus  dividing  it  into  equal 
parts,  and  by  plucking  either  of  these  at  its  centre 
a  musical  note  is  obtained  which  is  the  octave  of 
the  fundamental  note.  Moreover,  in  all  cases,  and 
with  all  instruments,  the  octave  of  the  note  is  pro- 
duced by  doubling  the  number  of  its  vibrations. 
It  can  be  proved  by  the  siren  that  this  half  string 


VOICE  BUILDING. 


vibrates   with   exactly   twice   the   rapidity   of   the 
whole,  one  third  the  string  with  three  times,  pro- 


(2) 


c  o 

A 


I 


V 

a  a 

(3)  (4) 

Fia.  14. 


6" 


(6) 


(6) 


ducing  a  note  a  fifth  above  the  octave,  while  one 
fourth  of  the  string  vibrates  with  four  times  the 
rapidity,  producing  the  double  octave  of  the  whole 


TONE  AND  OVERTONES.  85 

string.  From  this  circumstance  a  law  is  evolved 
that  the  shorter  the  string  the  greater  its  number 
of  vibrations.  The  vibrations  of  a  string  also  de- 
pend on  its  tension,  thickness,  and  density ;  the 
greater  the  tension  the  more  rapid  will  be  the 
vibrations ;  the  thicker  the  string  the  lower  the 
note ;  and  the  less  the  density  of  the  string,  the 
other  factors  remaining  equal,  the  more  rapid  will 


FIG.  15. 

be  its  vibrations.  In  the  violin  and  other  stringed 
instruments,  thickness  instead  of  length  is  used  to 
obtain  the  deeper  tones.  We  have  shown  above 
that,  by  placing  a  bridge  at  any  given  point  or 
points  of  a  string,  and  so  dividing  it,  it  may  be 
made  to  vibrate  in  segments.  Strong  pressure, 
however,  is  not  necessary  thus  to  divide  it.  Place 
a  feather  ever  so  lightly  against  the  middle  of  a 

string  and  draw  a  violin  bow  over  one  of  its  seg- 
7 


86  VOICE  BUILDING. 

ments,  the  string  will  yield  a  note  the  octave  of 
the  fundamental.  This  light  touch  is  sufficient  to 
cause  the  string  to  divide  into  two  vibrating  seg- 
ments. Furthermore,  the  feather  may  be  removed, 
and  the  string  will  still  continue  to  vibrate  and  give 
forth  the  same  note  (Fig.  15). 

The  vibrating  parts  of  the  string  or  wire  are 
called  the  ventral  segments,  and  the  point  where 
the  feather  touched  the  wire  is  known  as  a  node, 
and  indicates  a  point  of  rest  in  the  vibrating  string. 
When  a  vibrating  string  is  so  divided  into  one  or 
more  ventral  segments,  it  is  known  technically  as 
damping,  and,  as  we  shall  see,  these  fixed  points,  or 
nodes,  play  a  most  important  part  in  all  musical 
sounds. 

Sound  is  produced  not  only  by  the  vibration  of 
solid,  but  also  of  liquid  and  gaseous  bodies,  the 
vibration  of  the  air  in  an  organ  pipe  being  the  best 
example  of  the  latter.  Sounding  pipes  are  of  two 
kinds,  flue,  or  mouth  pipes,  and  reed  pipes,  and  the 
sound  is  produced  either  by  breaking  up  the  air 
blown  into  them  or  by  causing  it  to  enter  in  puffs. 
Fig.  16  shows  the  most  common  form  of  a  flue 
pipe.  The  pipe  is  hollow,  and  is  either  open  or 
closed  at  the  top,  and  has  its  embouchure  at  ra. 
Fig.  17,  shows  the  same  in  section.  The  air 
enters  by  the  tube  a  into  the  box  5,  and  breaks 


TONE  AND  OVERTONES. 


87 


through  the  narrow  fissure  against  the  thin  edge 
of  Z,  and  as  a  result  a  musical  sound  is  obtained. 
Fig.  18  shows  the  reed  pipe.  The  air  entering  at  r 


FIG.  16. 


FIG.  17. 


FIG.  18. 


FIG.  19. 


in  order  to  reach  the  sounding  pipe  has  to  pass 
through  the  lower  opening  a  (Fig.  19),  and  this 
opening  is  closed  by  the  elasticity  of  the  metallic 
tongue  of  the  reed  d.  The  vibration  of  this  tongue 
causes  a  rapid  opening  and  closing  of  the  box  so 


88 


VOICE  BUILDING. 


that  the  air  penetrates  at  regular  intervals  in  puffs, 
and  produces  a  musical  sound.  In  all  pipes  the 
loudness  of  the  sound  depends  upon  the  strength  of 
the  blast,  the  note  depending  upon  the  dimensions 

and  upon  the  length  of 
the  pipe  R.  We  can  con- 
struct a  pipe  which  will  give 
either  a  fundamental  note 
or  a  series  of  higher  ones. 
In  an  organ,  each  pipe  is 
constructed  so  as  to  give 
only  its  fundamental  note. 
Many  wind  instruments, 
however,  such  as  the  flute, 
trumpet,  trombone,  etc., 
are,  in  reality,  pipes  con- 
structed to  give  a  series  of 
notes.  This  is  done  by  giv- 
ing the  instrument  greater 
length ;  in  some  cases  it  be- 
ing straight  and  in  others 
twisted,  the  air  being  set 
into  vibrating  columns  by 
stops  of  different  kinds,  as 
the  pistons  in  a  cornet  or 

the  keys  in  a  flute.  In  other  words,  by  these  means 
we  may  develop  nodes  in  the  column  of  air.  The 


FIG.  20. 


TONE  AND  OVERTONES.  89 

vibration  of  air  in  a  pipe  and  the  presence  of  nodes 
is  prettily  shown  in  Fig.  20.  A  membrane,  m,  upon 
which  some  sand  is  sprinkled  is  introduced  into  the 
upper  end  of  an  open  sounding  pipe,  one  wall  of 
which  is  made  of  glass.  The  sand  will  be  seen 
jumping  about  upon  the  membrane,  and  this  is 
plainly  caused  by  the  vibrations  of  the  air  in  the 
pipe  being  imparted  to  the  membrane.  It  will  be 
observed  that  at  the  middle  of  the  pipe  the  move- 
ment of  the  sand  ceases.  In  other  words,  we  have 
at  this  point  a  true  node ;  as  the  membrane  sinks 
beyond  the  'middle  point,  the  sand  is  again  set  in 
motion  by  the  vibrating  air. 

"We  have  now  to  deal  with  musical  sound.  The 
difference  between  noise  and  a  musical  sound  lies 
in  the  manner  with  which  the  vibrations  strike  the 
ear  drum.  Noise  affects  us  as  an  irregular  succes- 
sion of  shocks ;  we  are  conscious  of  a  jarring  of  the 
auditory  nerves.  A  musical  sound,  on  the  other 
hand,  flows  smoothly  and  without  harshness  or  irreg- 
ularity. This  smoothness,  which  is  the  characteristic 
of  musical  sound,  is  secured  by  rendering  the  im- 
pulses received  by  the  tympanum  perfectly  periodic. 
To  produce  a  musical  tone  we  must  have,  then,  a 
body  which  vibrates  with  unerring  regularity,  and 
which  imparts  sufficiently  rapid  impulses- to  the  air. 

"  Imagine  the  first  of  a  series  of  pulses  following 


90  VOICE  BUILDING. 

each  other  at  regular  intervals.  The  tympanum  is 
shaken  by  the  shock  and  can  not  come  immediately 
to  rest,  though  the  human  ear  is  so  constructed  that 
sonorous  motion  vanishes  with  extreme  rapidity ; 
still,  its  disappearance  is  not  instantaneous.  If  the 
motion  imparted  to  the  auditory  nerve  by  each 
separate  pulse  continues  until  its  successor  arrives, 
the  sound  will  be  continuous.  The  effect  of  each 
shock  will  be  renewed  before  it  vanishes,  and  the 
recurrent  impulses  will  link  themselves  together  as 
a  continuous  musical  sound.  If  these  pulses,  on 
the  contrary,  are  of  irregular  strength  and  recur- 
rence, they  produce  merely  noise;  and  so  we  see 
that  the  one  condition  necessary  to  the  production 
of  musical  sound  is  that  the  pulses  shall  succeed 
each  other  in  the  same  interval  of  time.  If  we 
could  cause  a  watch  to  tick  with  sufficient  rapidity, 
say,  a  hundred  times  a  second,  the  ticks  would  lose 
their  individuality  and  blend  to  a  musical  tone.  If 
the  strokes  of  a  pigeon's  wing  were  as  rapid,  the 
progress  of  the  bird  through  the  air  would  be 
accompanied  by  music.  In  the  case  of  the  hum- 
ming bird,  the  necessary  rapidity  of  wing  movement 
is  attained,  and  hence  we  have  the  note  which  is 
characteristic  of  the  bird  and  gives  it  its  name." 

*  Tyndall,  loc.  cit.,  pp.  78  and  79. 


TONE   AND  OVERTONES.  91 

Loudness  of  tone  depends  upon  the  amplitude 
or  width  of  swing  of  the  vibration  of  the  air  par- 
ticles, upon  the  distance  it  has  travelled  before 
reaching  the  ear,  and  upon  the  density  of  the  air 
in  which  it  is  generated.  Indeed,  every  sonorous 
impression  of  which  we  are  conscious  has  a  depend- 
ent relationship  to  the  condition  of  the  atmos- 
phere. This  is  prettily  emphasized  by  Tyndall, 
who  says  :  "  Were  our  organs  sharp  enough  to  see 
the  motions  of  the  air  through  which  a  voice  is 
passing,  we  might  see  stamped  upon  the  air  the 
conditions  of  motion  on  which  the  sweetness  of  the 
voice  depends."  Higher  or  lower  numbers  of  vibra- 
tions which  go  to  make  a  tone  are  called  pitch. 
The  pitch  of  a  tone  depends  solely  upon  the  rate 
of  vibration ;  the  greater  the  number  of  vibrations 
in  a  given  time  the  higher  the  pitch.  Fewer  than 
sixteen  vibrations  a  second  are  not  perceived  by  the 
ear  as  tone,  but  merely  as  separate  shocks,  and  over 
forty  thousand  per  second  produce,  as  a  rule,  no 
sensation  of  sound.  Any  tone  of  a  given  pitch 
may  be  varied  from  a  very  soft  to  a  very  strong 
sound  by  increasing  the  amplitude  of  the  vibrations, 
and  soft  or  strong  tones  of  the  same  pitch  may  vary 
in  quality,  or,  as  is  commonly  said,  in  timbre,  or 
Klangfarbe — that  is,  in  tone  tint.  These  facts  may 
be  readilv  demonstrated  bv  an  instrument  known 


92  VOICE   BUILDING. 

as  the  siren.  The  siren,  in  its  simplest  form,  is 
shown  in  Fig.  21,  and  consists  of  the  revolving 
disk  A,  twenty  inches  in  diameter,  with  a  series 
of  thirty-two  round  perforations  at  equal  distances 
from  each  other  on  a  sixteen-inch  circle.  Over 
this  disk  is  placed  a  bent  tube,  m,  connected  with  a 
pair  of  bellows,  by  means  of  which  the  air  may  be 


FIG.  21. 

driven  through  the  tube  and  against  the  disk.  If 
the  disk  be  set  rotating,  the  air  passes  through  the 
holes  in  a  series  of  puffs,  and  as  they  succeed  one 
another  they  will  produce  pulses  in  the  air  which 
will  blend  into  a  continuous  musical  note.  The 
more  rapidly  the  disk  rotates,  the  higher  will  be 
the  note.  If,  for  instance,  the  disk  revolves  eight- 
times  a  second,  the  air  would  pass  through  256 
holes,  and  would  thus  be  rarefied  and  condensed 
256  times  a  second,  the  tone  produced  corre- 
sponding to  the  c'  of  our  scale.  Doubling  the 
speed  of  the  disk,  we  produce  the  note  the  exact 


TONE  AND  OVERTONES.  93 

octave  of  the  first,  or  c"  =  512.  Decrease  the 
speed  to  four  revolutions  per  second,  and  a  tone 
one  octave  below  c'  is  produced,  or  c  =  128.  The 
greater  the  number  of  revolutions  per  second  the 
higher  the  note,  and  vice  versa. 

If  against  the  holes  in  the  above  disk  two  cur- 
rents of  air  are  directed  instead  of  one,  it  is  plain 
we  should,  on  turning  the  disk,  .get  a  puff  through 
two  holes  at  the  same  time,  and  the  result  would 
be  a  considerable  increase  in  the  intensity  of  the 
sound,  the  pitch,  however,  remaining  the  same. 
The  tones  produced  by  blowing  against  either 
round  or  square  holes  in  a  revolving  disk  do  not 
vary  in  pitch  at  the  same  speed,  but  they  do  vary 
slightly  in  quality.  In  both  cases  the  number  of 
vibrations  produced  is  the  same,  but  the  way  in 
which  the  air  is  rarefied  and  condensed  is  in  each 
case  different,  and  there  is  to  the  trained  ear  a 
perceptible  difference  in  quality.  With  a  siren 
properly  constructed  we  can  ascertain  exactly  the 
number  of  vibrations  corresponding  to  a  musical 
note. 

Operating  delicately;  says  Tyndall,  we  might 
even  determine  from  the  hum  of  an  insect  the 
number  of  times  it  flaps  its  wings  in  a  second.* 

*  Loc.  cit.,  p.  95. 


94  VOICE  BUILDING. 

We  have  seen  that  if  a  stretched  string  is  stopped 
at  half  its  length,  the  number  of  its  vibrations  is 
doubled  ;  if  at  one  third,  it  will  be  trebled,  and  so 
on.  A  vibrating  string  giving  the  note  c'  stopped 
at  its  central  point  will  give  c" ;  at  one  third  of  its 
length,  g" ;  at  one  fourth  or  three  quarters,  c'"  ;  at 
one  fifth,  two  fifths,  three  fifths,  and  four  fifths,  e"' ; 
at  one  sixth  and  five  sixths,  g'",  each  segment  vibrat- 
ing as  a  new  and  independent  string.  Now  it  is 
not  possible  to  sound  the  string  as  a  whole  with- 
out at  the  same  time  exciting  to  a  greater  or  less 
extent  its  subdivisions.  The  higher  notes  produced 
by  the  vibrations  of  the  subdivisions  are  called  the 
harmonics  of  the  string,  and  these  overtones  min- 
gling with  the  fundamental  tone  determine  the 
quality  or  timbre  of  the  string  or  instrument  which 
produces  the  sound. 

The  subdivisions  of  the  string  being  constantly 
in  vibration,  the  fundamental  tone  is  accompanied 
and  augmented  by  the  tones  of  these  subdivisions. 
A  vibrating  string  which  produces  the  fundamental 
tone,  c'=256  vibrations,  the  tones  of  its  nodes,  c",  g' ', 
c'",  e'" ,  g1",  etc.,  will  augment  in  a  small  degree  the 
tone  c'.  Furthermore,  the  character  of  the  tone  c' 
is  affected  by  the  readiness  with  which  the  tones  of 
its  nodes  develop  and  synchronize  with  it,  and  the 
quality  of  c'  will  be  the  result  of  the  mingling  of 


TONE  AND  OVEHTONES.  95 

the  fundamental  tone  and  the  tones  of  its  har- 
monics in  the  string.  The  fundamental  tone  is 
distinct,  but  the  tones  of  the  segments  will  be 
scarcely  perceptible  to  the  unaided  ear.  The  fun- 
damental tone  gives  the  substantial  impulse,  while 
the  tones  of  the  segments  give  to  the  fundamental 
tone  a  special  character  and  an  increased  delicacy. 
These  additional  tones,  which  are  ever  present,  are 
called  partials  or  overtones,  and  are  known  as 
second,  third,  fourth,  and  fifth  upper  partials.  A 
simple  fundamental  tone  is  not  known  in  music. 
All  tones  are  compound,  consisting,  as  we  have 
seen,  of  the  fundamental  and  its  overtones. 

There  are  also  lower  partials  or  undertones  in 
combination  with  fundamental  tones,  but  they  are, 
generally  speaking,  of  little  importance.  The  pres- 
ence and  importance  of  overtones  in  sound  was 
discovered  forty-five  years  ago  by  Helmholtz.  The 
presence  of  thirty-three  to  thirty -four  overtones  to 
given  fundamentals  has  been  shown,  but  exact 
data  as  to  the  influence  of  overtones  on  instru- 
ments and  the  voice  have  been  calculated  scien- 
tifically for  the  first  fifteen  to  seventeen  only. 
Tones  from  different  sources,  however,  fundamental 
and  compound,  moving  through  air,  will  always  form 
a  compound  wave,  which  may  be  readily  divided 
into  the  original  waves.  Thus,  from  an  approaching 


96  VOICE  BUILDING. 

band,  at  first  we  hear  but  few  of  the  instruments,  and 
then  more  and  more,  until  finally  the  sound  of  all 
the  instruments  is  combined  in  one  compound  wave, 
and  we  have,  as  a  result,  a  harmony  produced  by 
all  the  instruments.  The  fact  that  all  sound  waves 
travel  at  the  same  speed  makes  it  possible  for  us  to 
hear  the  different  instruments  of  high  and  low 
pitch  simultaneously.  Compound  waves  of  differ- 
ent fundamental  tones  form  some  tones  which  are 

agreeable  to  the  ear, 
and  others  which  are 
intolerable.  The  first 
are  called  consonant  or 
harmonic,  the  latter 
dissonant  or  dishar- 
monic  tones.  The  vi- 
brations imparted  to 
the  air  by  a  fundamen- 
tal tone  are  known  as  sympathetic  vibrations,  and 
the  fact  that  the  fundamental  tone  sets  the  air  into 
secondary  vibrations,  producing  overtones,  may  be 
shown  very  beautifully  by  Helmholtz  resonators. 
These  are  little  hollow  metal  spheres,  as  shown 
in  Fig.  22.  The  small  projection  J,  which  has 
an  orifice,  is  placed  in  the  ear ;  the  sound 
waves  entering  the  hollow  spheres  through  the 
aperture  a  throw  the  contained  air  into  sympa- 


TONE  AND  OVERTONES.  97 

tlietic  vibrations.  These  resonators  are  of  differ- 
ent sizes,  and  are  made  so  that  the  air  within 
the  cavity  is  thrown  into  vibration  by  a  note  of  a 
given  pitch,  a,  J,  <?,  d,  etc.  A  resonator  tuned  to  c 
will  not  resound  to  b  when  placed  to  the  ear  and 
the  tone  sounded,  but  will  become  at  once  excited 
by  c.  By  means  of  these  resonators  a  note  re-en- 
forced by  its  particular  sphere,  and  thereby  ren- 
dered more  powerful  than  its  companions,  may  be 
in  a  measure  isolated  from  a  composite  clang. 
Sympathetic  vibrations  are  only  set  up  in  a  second- 
ary string,  or  pipe,  when  they  are  capable  by  them- 
selves of  producing  the  fundamental  note.  If  we 
take  a  sonometer  on  which  two  strings  are  stretched, 
tuned  to  give  the  same  note,  and  place  paper  riders 
on  the  strings,  as  shown  in  Fig.  15,  and  one  of  the 
strings  is  rubbed  so  that  it  will  give  forth  its  funda- 
mental note,  all  the  riders  on  this  string  will  be 
thrown  into  the  air,  and  the  second  string,  which 
has  not  been  touched,  will  exhibit  the  same  phenom- 
ena, although  more  feebly.  This  means  that  the 
second  string,  of  course,  vibrates  in  the  same  way  as 
the  first ;  but  it  will  not  take  place  if  the  second 
string  is  stretched  more  than  the  first.  In  this 
instance  the  vibrations  of  the  first  string  are  trans- 
mitted to  the  bridge  on  which  it  rests  and  thence 
to  the  second  string.  Vibrations  are  also  trans- 


98  VOICE  BUILDING. 

mitted  by  the  air ;  if  a  tuning  fork,  for  instance,  is 
placed  beside  an  organ  pipe  having  the  same  funda- 
mental pitch,  and  the  latter  is  made  to  sound,  the 
tuning  fork  will  at  once  reproduce  the  note.  If, 
however,  a  pipe  is  used  which  gives  a  different  note, 
there  is  no  secondary  vibration  of  the  fork.  This 
again  may  be  proved  by  means  of  Savart's  bell, 


FIG.  23. 

Fig.  23.  A  large  bell,  a,  when  caused  to  vibrate, 
produces  a  powerful  note.  The  hollow  cylinder  b 
with  a  movable  bottom  is  brought  near  it ;  by 
altering  the  position  of  the  bottom,  and  thus 
modifying  the  depth  of  the  cylinder,  the  point  at 
which  the  re-enforcement  of  the  sound  is  greatest 
is  easily  found.  The  effect  is  very  remarkable  if 


TONE  AND  OVERTONES.  99 

the  sound  of  the  bell  is  allowed  to  diminish  until 
it  is  scarcely  audible,  when,  on  bringing  the  cylinder 
nearer,  the  sound  will  again  become  very  percep- 
tible. In  a  well-tuned  piano  we  can  produce  the 
overtones  of  any  fundamental  tone  by  the  sympa- 
thetic vibrations  of  the  air.  The  demonstration  is 
easiest  in  the  bass.  If  we  take,  for  example,  the 
tone  C  =  64  vibrations  per  second,  its  overtones 
are  C=  64,  c  =  128,  g  =  192,  c'  =  256,  e'  =  320, 
g'  =  384,  W  =  448,  c"  =  512,  d"  =  576,  e"  =  640,/" 
=  704,  /=  768,  etc.  This  gives  a  total  of  4,992 
vibrations  a  second  to  the  fundamental  and  its  ex- 
isting first  twelve  overtones.  For  the  higher  over- 
tones the  number  of  vibrations  increases  rapidly,  so 
that  C  =  64  with  sixteen  overtones  will  give  nearly 
twice  as  many,  or  9,984  vibrations  a  second. 
The  multiples  of  sound  waves  for  each  funda- 
mental tone  in  an  orchestra,  and  the  possible  thirty- 
four  overtones  for  each  instrument,  can  be  con- 
ceived, but  are  not  to  be  heard  with  the  unaided 
ear. 

To  show  the  overtones  of  O=  64  vibrations  a 
second  on  a  well-tuned  piano,  press  down  singly  or 
together  with  the  right  hand  the  keys  c,  g,  c',  etc., 
so  gently  that  the  hammer  of  the  key  does  not  strike 
the  piano  string.  Then  strike  the  key  C  =  64  with 
the  left  hand  hard  and  rapidly.  The  clamper  will 


100  VOICE  BUILDING. 

quickly  stop  the  vibrating  string  C=  64,  and,  on 
listening  attentively,  the  higher  tones  of  the  keys 
held  down  by  the  right  hand  are  heard  vibrating, 
the  result  being  a  most  melodious  harmony.  Of 
the  tones  produced  by  sympathetic  vibrations,  those 
which  correspond  to  the  lower  overtones  will  be 
most  easily  distinguishable,  while  the  higher  will 
grow  fainter  and  less  audible,  being  much  more  dif- 
ficult to  produce.  Eeversing  this  experiment,  press 
down  lightly  the  key  C  =  64  vibrations  and  hold  it ; 
then,  with  the  pedal  down,  strike  alternately  two 
chords  with  the  right  hand — that  is,  seven  overtones 
—first,  c,  g,  c' ;  second,  e',  g',  W,  G" .  On  releasing  the 
pedal  this  G  =  64  will  become  quite  audible,  and, 
through  the  sympathetic  vibrations  01  its  overtones, 
of  a  highly  melodious  quality.  If,  however,  we  try 
the  last  two  experiments  with  any  other  notes  than 
the  overtones,  neither  the  fundamental  nor  the  over- 
tones will  be  forthcoming  in  a  well-tune«)iano. 

Examining  the  overtones  of  O=  (•,  we  find 
Nos.  2,  3,  4,  5,  6,  8,  10,  12,  16,  etc.,  to  be  Consonant 
or  harmonic,  Nos.  7,  9,  11,  13,  15,  etc.,  dissonant  or 
disharmonic,  and  that  the  former  increase,  while  the 
latter  mar,  the  pure  melodious  quality  of  the  sound. 
This  is  the  reason  why  a  piano  string  is  struck  on 
one  seventh  or  one  ninth  its  length  in  order  to 
eliminate  these  discordant  harmonics,  and  also  the 


TONE  AND  OVERTONES.  101 

reason  that  in  large  organs  the  so-called  third  and 
fifth  octaves,  and  even  the  twelfth  stops,  are  coupled 
that  they  may  sound  simultaneously  with  the  funda- 
mental tone  and  strengthen  its  sonorous  quality.  It 
is  evident  that  a  different  intensity,  as  well  as  the 
presence  or  absence  of  one  or  more  overtones,  though 
inaudible  in  itself,  would  change  the  quality  of  a 
tone.  Violins  have  all  the  overtones  to  the  seventh 
prominent ;  clarinets  the  third,  fifth,  and  seventh ; 
flutes  the  first  and  second;  reed  organs  up  to  the 
twentieth ;  and  in  pianos  the  third,  seventh,  twelfth, 
and  thirteenth  can  often  be  heard  by  the  unaided 
ear.  To  what  extent  the  conditions  influencing  the 
timbre  in  any  instrument  may  vary  will  be  easily 
seen,  for  in  pianos  alone  the  presence  of  the  first  six 
overtones  in  different  degrees  of  intensity  may  pro- 
duce many,  thousand  changes  in  timbre — all  slight, 
but  audible  to  our  ear.  The  same  conditions  for 
the  p-1"  "  ^?tion  of  overtones  exist  in  reed  as  in  string 
instru.  •-.  In  flutes  we  find  that  in  the  lowest 
octave  tne  air  vibrates  as  a  whole.  In  the  second 
octave  the  air  column  vibrates  in  halves  through 
the  air  space,  the  player  changing  slightly  the  man- 
ner of  tone  production  and  the  air  blast ;  while  in 
the  third  octave  the  air  inside  the  flute  quarters. 
In  cornets  and  other  wind  instruments  the  tones  are 
produced  in  a  similar  way.  The  character  and  tim- 

8 


102 


VOICE  BUILDING. 


bre  of  all  wind  instruments,  however,  is  dependent 
upon  the  presence  of  certain  overtones  in  different 
intensity  and  strength;  and  the  form  also  of  the 
hollow  spaces  in  which  the  tone  is  produced  has 


FIG.  24. 

naturally  much  to  do  with  the  formation  and  pro- 
duction of  the  fundamental  and  its  overtones.  The 
difference  between  a  clarinet  with  the  nasal  twangy- 
tone  quality  and  one  of  exactly  the  same  size  and 
make  with  a  full,  sonorous  timbre,  lies  in  the  minute 


TONE   AND  OVERTONES.  103 

differences  in  the  various  borings  and  air  spaces. 
The  elasticity  also  of  the  material  from  which  the 
clarinet  is  constructed  has  much  to  do  with  the  for- 
mation of  the  fundamental  and  overtones. 

The  vibrations  of  air  in  sounding  pipes  and  the 
existence  of  overtones  is  beautifully  shown  by  a 
mechanism  hi  vented  by  Prof.  Konig,  for  producing 
his  so-called  manometric  flames.  The  instrument  is 
shown  in  Fig.  2i.  One  or  more  pipes  of  the  same 
size  are  mounted  on  a  small  box  which  acts  as  an 
air  chest,  the  tube  a  connecting  it  with  the  bellows. 
The  valves  v  enable  us  to  use  one  or  both  the  pipes. 
e  represents  an  opening  under  which  there  is  an 
elastic  membrane  which  serves  to  separate  the  ul- 
terior of  the  pipe  from  the  interior  of  the  capsule. 
This  capsule  is  in  communication  on  one  side  with 
the  glass  tube  <?,  and  on  the  other  with  the  small 
tube/",  which  ends  in  a  gas  burner.  The  gas  enters 
the  capsule  and  passes  through  it  to  the  burner,  and 
a  small  lean  flame  is  produced.  If  the  pipe  is  not 
sounded  the  gas  passes  through  the  capsule,  and  the 
flame  burns  quietly.  If,  however,  the  pipe  sounds, 
the  movement  of  the  vibrating  air  is  communicated 
to  the  membrane  of  the  capsule,  and  from  it  to  the 
gas,  and  the  flame  will  be  seen  rising  and  falling 
rapidly  as  it  is  affected  by  the  vibrations  of  the  air 
in  the  pipe.  If  a  four-sided  mirror,  S,  is  placed  in 


104  VOICE  BUILDING. 

front  of  it,  which  can  be  turned  rapidly  round  its 
vertical  axis  while  the  pipe  is  sounding,  the  positions 
of  the  flame  in  rising  and  falling  will  be  seen  suc- 
ceeding one  another  with  per- 
fect regularity,  as  in  Fig.  25. 
If  no  note  is  sounded  a  con- 
tinuous ribbon  of  name,  with- 
out teeth,  is  reflected  in  the 
mirror.  If  a  smaller  pipe  be 
used,  which  gives  a  note  an 
octave  higher  than  the  first,  the  vibrating  flames  will 
be  seen  to  be  of  double  the  number  of  teeth  in  the 
mirror ;  in  other  words,  the  higher  the  note  with  an 
equal  speed  of  the  mirror,  the  nearer  together  are 
the  flames,  and,  conversely,  the  more  rapid  the  vibra- 
tions of  the  air  in  the  pipes.  Indeed,  the  reflected 
flame  is  seen  in  the  revolving  mirror,  ever  varying 
its  shape  with  the  different  tones.  By  changing  the 
apparatus  so  that  a  speaking  tube  takes  the  place  of 
the  pipe,  and  playing  a  fundamental  tone  and  its 
octave  into  it,  the  mirror  will  show  a  number  of 
bat's  wings  in  flame.  If,  however,  we  add  a  tone 
corresponding  to  the  next  overtone,  the  mirror  will 
show  several  tongued  flames  of  different  lengths. 

We  have  seen  that  each  vowel  sound  has  a 
natural  pitch  of  its  own,  and  this  may  be  distinctly 
seen  by  speaking  the  vowels  into  the  funnel  con- 


TONE  AND   OVERTONES.  105 

nected  with  the  above  instrument,  where 
each  will  be  found  to  give  its  distinctive 
ribbon  of  light.  Tones  of  the  same  pitch 
played  on  different  instruments  or  sung  by 
different  persons  will  give  a  slightly  differ- 
ent picture  in  the  mirror.  The  vowel  flame, 
Figs.  26  and  27,  is  one  of  astonishing  sen- 
sitiveness. The  mere  dropping  of  a  coin 
into  the  hand  already  containing  a  piece  of 
metal  yards  away  will  cause  the  flame  to 
drop.  It  is  startled  by  the  patter  of 
a  raindrop,  and  the  tick  of  a  watch 
causes  it  to  fall  and  roar.  A  loud  U 
does  not  move  the  flame,  but  when 
O  is  spoken  it  quivers.  By  E  it  is 
strongly  moved,  and  by  the  sound 
Ah  it  is  thrown  into  very  great  com- 
motion, showing  how  beautifully  this 
flame  illustrates  the  theory  of  vowel 
sounds.  It  is  plainly  most  sensitive 

FIG.  27. 

to  sounds  of  high  pitch,  and  from  its 
action   there   is  but   one  conclusion  to  be 
drawn — viz.,  that  the   sound   Ah  contains 
higher  notes  than  E,  E  than  O,  and  O  pos- 

FIG.  26.    sesses  a  naturally  higher  pitch  than  IT.     For 
this    reason    the    same    fundamental    note 

sung  with  different  vowels   will  give   a  different 


106 


VOICE  BUILDING. 


image    of    its   overtones    in   the   revolving  mirror 
(Fig.  29). 

Tones  of  the  same  pitch  produced  by  different 
voices  show  some  overtones  stronger  and  more  prom- 


FIG.  28. 


inent,  some  weaker,  while   some  may  be  missing 
from  one  or  the  other  voice  altogether.    The  slight- 


TONE  AND  OVERTONES.  107 

est  change  in  the  manner  of  producing  a  fundamen- 
tal tone  and  its  overtones  will  give  a  different  quality 
to  the  musical  sound,  the  quality  of  a  musical  tone 
being  in  fact  dependent  upon  the  relative  intensity 
and  strength  of  its  overtones.  A  very  interesting 
apparatus  for  analyzing  overtones  is  shown  in  the 
accompanying  figure  (Fig.  28).  Konig  has  taken 
eight  resonators  tuned  to  the  overtones  of  the  fun- 
damental note  c,  each  with  their  delicate  flames 
placed  one  above  the  other,  so  that  the  reflected 
image  of  the  ribbons  of  light  in  the  revolving  mir- 
ror corresponds  to  the  fundamental  and  the  first 
seven  overtones.  A  note  corresponding  hi  pitch  to 
the  largest  or  fundamental  resonator  should  be  sung 
close  to  the  apparatus,  and  if  overtones  be  present, 
they  will  set  the  resonators  in  action,  and  in  turn  the 
corresponding  flames.  These  will  be  pictured  in  the 
revolving  mirror  (Fig.  29).  The  first  overtone  will 
be  seen  to  have  double  the  number  of  serrations,  or 
teeth,  as  the  fundamental,  the  second  three  tunes  as 
many,  the  third  four  times  as  many,  etc.,  provided 
they  be  present.  If  they  are  not  present,  the  mathe- 
matical ratio  will  not  be  constant,  showing  the  ab- 
sence or  interruption  of  that  overtone  not  in  series. 
In  this  manner  the  presence  and  strength  of  the 
lower  overtones  of  the  human  voice,  or  any  instru- 
ment, may  be  determined,  and  a  photograph  will 


108  VOICE  BUILDING. 

record  the  image  of  the  timbre  of  different  voices, 
so  that  we  can  mathematically  write  an  equation  of 
any  given  voice  on  a  fundamental  tone.  "With  this 
instrument  the  influence  of  the  vowels  may  be 


FIG.  29. 


shown  on  the  ribbons  of  light,  and  the  different 
overtones  which  each  accentuate  be  demonstrated. 
Fig.  29  shows  the  reflected  image  of  the  fundamen- 
tal c  and  its  first  six  overtones. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

THE    REGISTERS    OF    THE    HUMAN   VOICE. 

IN  singing  an  ascending  scale,  there  is  a  point 
beyond  which  it  is  difficult  to  go  without  changing 
the  method  of  producing  the  tone.  The  places  in 
the  musical  scale  at  which  this  change  occurs  vary 
in  different  persons,  and  divide  the  scale  into  the 
so-called  registers  of  the  human  voice.  By  regis- 
ter we  mean  the  tones  which  are  produced  by  a 
particular  arrangement  of  the  vocal  cords.  Man- 
cini,*  writing  as  far  back  as  1TY4,  says  that  in  cer- 
tain rare  instances  there  is  only  one  register — the 
chest — used  throughout  the  whole  compass  of  the 
voice;  and  Dr.  Wesley  Mills f  also  states  that  in 
rare  cases  he  found  that  the  chest  register,  i.  e.,  the 

*  Mancini,  Pensieri  e  riflessioni  practiche  sopra  il  canto  figu- 
rato,  Vienna,  1774,  p.  43. 

f  An  Examination  of  Some  of  the  Controverted  Points  of 
the  Physiology  of  the  Voice,  especially  the  Registers  of  the 
Singing  Voice  and  the  Falsetto  (American  Association  for  the 
Adyancement  of  Science,  August,  1882). 

109 


110  VOICE  BUILDING. 

chest  mechanism,  was  the  only  one  used,  and  he 
attributes  this  peculiarity  either  to  special  endow- 
ment or  to  a  special  method  of  teaching.* 

Mackenzie  f  found,  after  a  special  investigation 
of  some  four  hundred  trained  singers,  that  the 
chest  register  was  generally  used  throughout  by 
pure  sopranos,  and  he  shows  the  vocal  picture  to 
be  such  in  the  cases  of  Mlsson,  Albani,  and  Valeria 
— certainly  a  most  remarkable  observation.  On  the 
other  hand,  he  found  that  contraltos  sang  their 

o 

high  notes  almost  invariably  in  the  head  register, 
mezzo-sopranos  generally  making  use  of  both. 
Tenors  also  used  both  registers,  though  five-sixths 
of  their  notes  were  sung  with  the  chest  mechanism. 
A  few,  however,  confined  themselves  entirely  to 
the  latter.  Barytones,  when  they  sang  within  their 
compass,  used  the  chest  register,  as  of  course  bass 
singers  always  do.  As  we  shall  presently  see, 
nearly  all  scientific  observers  describe  two  registers 
in  the  human  voice.  Musicians,  on  the  other  hand, 
invariably  give  five,  while  singing  teachers  gen- 
erally divide  the  registers  into  chest,  middle  or 


*  This  corresponds  with  our  own  observation.  It  is  the 
result  of  a  special  method  of  producing  the  voice,  however,  as 
we  shall  show,  and  not  of  a  special  endowment. 

t  Mackenzie,  Hygiene  of  the  Vocal  Organs,  London,  1888, 
p.  35. 

~ 


THE  REGISTERS  OF  THE  HUMAN  VOICE,    m 

medium,  head,  and  falsetto.  The  term  falsetto  is 
used  ambiguously  by  many  writers.  It  is  fre- 
quently used  to  indicate  the  medium  register,  be- 
tween the  chest  and  head.  We  prefer  to  use  the 
term  as  describing  the  false  voice  in  man  simu- 
lating the  upper  tone  of  a  soprano,  and  as  descrip- 
tive of  an  extreme  birdlike  register  sometimes 
found  in  the  altissimo  of  women's  voices. 

Garcia,*  writing  in  1861,  divided  the  voice  into 
three  registers,  chest,  falsetto,  and  head — all  three 
of  them  common  to  both  sexes,  the  female  having 
a  greater  range  in  head  and  men  in  the  chest  notes. 
He  further  divided  the  chest  into  an  upper  and 
lower,  and  the  head  into  an  upper  and  lower  regis- 
ter, thus  making  five  distinct  mechanisms.  Madame 
Seiler  f  followed  Garcia  in  his  division  of  the  reg- 
isters. Emile  BehnkeJ  divided  the  voice  into  a 
thick  (chest),  a  thin  (falsetto),  and  a  small  (head) 
register.  The  thick  and  thin  he  again  subdivided 
into  an  upper  and  lower,  and  this  is  the  division 
made  in  his  work  in  collaboration  with  Mr.  Lennox 
Browne.*  Dr.  Wesley  Mills,  |  in  his  excellent 

*  Observations.  Physilogiques  sur  la  Voix  Humaine,  Paris, 
1861,  p.  25. 

f  Seiler,  The  Voice  in  Singing.  Philadelphia,  1881,  p.  52. 

\  Behnke,  Mechanism  of  the  Human  Voice,  London,  1880, 
p.  71.  *  Voice,  Song,  and  Speech,  London,  1886,  p.  171. 

|  Op.  cit. 


112  VOICE  BUILDING. 

paper,  seemed  to  agree  with  the  divisions  of  Garcia 
and  Madame  Seiler;  but  in  a  private  letter  to 
Mackenzie  *  said  he  did  not  care  to  be  set  down  as 
a  hard  and  fast  advocate  of  any  of  the  divisions  of 
the  registers  now  adopted.  Mandl  f  advocated 
two  registers  only,  and  he  applied  the  term  lower 
to  the  chest  and  the  term  upper  to  the  head  divi- 
sion. Bataille,  $  Koch,*  Yacher,  |  Gouguenheim 
and  Lermoyez,A  and  Martels  Q  also  declare  for  two 
registers.  Mackenzie  $  says  that  there  are  essen- 
tially two  registers — one  the  chest,  in  which  the 
pitch  is  raised  by  means  of  increasing  tension  of  the 
vocal  cords,  the  other  the  head,  in  which  a  similar 
result  is  brought  about  by  shortening  of  the  vibrat- 
ing reed.  He  thinks  that  the  terms  long  reed  and 
short  reed  would  serve  well  enough  to  express  the 
fundamental  differences  in  the  mechanism  of  voice 
production.  If  we  read  him  aright,  he  uses  the 
head  or  short  reed  as  synonymous  with  the  falsetto.  J 

*  Quoted  by  Mackenzie,  op.  cit.,  p.  196. 

f  Hygiene  de  la  Voix  Parlee  ou  Chantee,  3d  ed.,  Paris,  1879, 
p.  37. 

\  Nouvelles  recherches  sur  la  Phonation,  Paris,  1861,  p.  67. 

*  De  la  Voix  Humaine,  Luxembourg,  1874,  p.  20. 
||  De  la  Voix  chez  1'Homrae,  Paris,  1877,  p.  29. 

A  Physiologie  de  la  Voix  et  du  Chant,  Paris,  1885,  p.  145. 
Q  Physiologie  de  la  Phonation,  Revue  bibl.  Univ.  des  Sci- 
ences Medicales,  t.  ii,  xiii,  and  1.  1885. 

$  Op.  cit.,  p.  32.  1  Op.  cit.,  p.  42. 


THE  REGISTERS  OP  THE   HUMAN  VOICE.    H3 

As  to  the  mechanism  of  the  registers,  most  ob- 
servers agree  that  in  the  lower  notes  of  the  chest 
register  the  whole  of  the  glottis  is  thrown  into 
full  loose  vibration,  but  as  the  pitch  rises  and  the 
cartilaginous  glottis  comes  into  closer  apposition, 
there  is  a  considerable  increase  of  tension  and  de- 
crease in  breadth  of  the  vocal  cords  themselves,  and 
the  glottic  aperture  becomes  much  narrowed.  In 
the  falsetto,  most  writers  hold  that  the  vocal  cords 
are  relaxed,  and  that  their  margins,  or  their 
mucous  coverings,  only  vibrate  at  the  free 
border. 

The  theory  of  purely  marginal  vibrations  in 
the  falsetto  was  first  advanced  by  Lehfeldt,*  and 
though  resting  upon  a  single  experiment,  it  was 
taken  up  by  Muller,t  and  since  that  time  has  been 
accepted  by  almost  every  writer  on  the  subject. 
They  have  disagreed  as  to  the  way  in  which  the 
mucous  membrane  was  thrown  into  vibration,  as  to 
the  extent  of  surface  involved,  as  to  the  tension  of 
the  cords,  and  the  appearance  and  extent  of  the 
glottic  aperture  ;  but,  generally  speaking,  they  have 
agreed  that  tone  in  this  register  is  produced  by  the 


*  Lehfeldt,  Nonnulla  de  vocis  formatione,  Dissert.  Inaug., 
Berlin,  1835,  p.  58. 

f  J.  Miiller,  Ueber  die  Compensation  der  physischen  Krafte 
am  menschlichen  Stimmapparat,  Berlin,  1839. 


114:  VOICE  BUILDING. 

vibrations   either   of  the  thin  edges  of  the  vocal 
cords  or  of  their  mucous  covering  only. 

We  have  contented  ourselves  with  this  general 
statement  since  the  revelations  of  the  laryngo- 
stroboscope,  which  we  shall  presently  describe,  have 
disproved  the  various  theories  as  to  the  action  of 
the  vocal  cords  advanced  by  different  writers.  A 
suggestion,  however,  of  Martels,*  in  discussing  the 
formation  of  the  registers,  is  worthy  of  attention. 
Martels  considered  that  the  difference  between  the 
chest  and  the  falsetto  registers  was  that,  while  the 
notes  in  the  former  are  produced  by  the  cords 
themselves  acting  as  reeds,  in  the  falsetto  they  are 
hi  reality  flute  sounds,  and  that  they  are  not  the 
result  of  the  vibrations  of  the  cords  proper,  but  of 
the  air  in  the  cavities  above.  This  is  also  the  opin- 
ion of  Chater,f  who  from  a  long  and  careful  study 
of  the  falsetto  says :  "  In  the  production  of  this 
voice  the  vocal  mechanism  becomes  an  instrument 
of  the  clarinet  or  oboe  class — that  is,  the  vocal 
cords  become  reeds  of  the  flexible  variety  and  cease 
to  influence  the  pitch  of  the  tone  produced,  but  act 
as  do  the  reeds  of  those  instruments,  merely  for  the 
purpose  of  setting  the  air  in  the  tube  in  vibration, 


*  Op.  cit. 

t  Scientific  Voice,  Artistic  Singing,  etc.,  London,  1890,  p.  53. 


THE  REGISTERS  OF  THE  HUMAN   VOICE.    H5 

the  pitch  being  governed  by  the  alterations  in  the 
length  of  the  tube. 

For  convenience,  we  assume  that  there  are  three 
registers,  chest,  medium,  and  head,  which  need  be 
considered  in  training  the  human  voice;  but  we 
believe  that  there  are  but  two  distinct  mechanisms, 
and  even  the  transition  from  one  register  to  the 
other  in  singing  the  scale  may  be  made  practically 
imperceptible,  if  the  proper  method  be  employed. 
As  to  the  shape  of  the  glottis,  we  admit  that  the 
whole  glottis  is  open  in  all  voices  in  the  lowest  or 
chest  register,  and  that  this  condition  is  maintained 
up  to  a  certain  pitch,  which  varies  in  different  indi- 
viduals. Beyond  this  point  the  cartilaginous  glottis 
is  closed  and  the  head  mechanism  begins.  We  are, 
however,  convinced  that  one  mechanism  may  be  cul- 
tivated throughout  the  entire  compass  of  the  voice ; 
that  the  vocal  cords  may  be  made  to  assume  a 
position  in  which  they  are  to  all  intents  and  pur- 
poses parallel  throughout  their  whole  extent ;  and, 
furthermore,  that  this  relation  of  the  cords  is  not 
necessarily  disturbed  in  passing  from  the  chest  to 
the  head  register.  In  this  method  of  voice  produc- 
tion the  vocal  cords,  as  we  pass  from  one  register 
to  another,  divide  themselves  into  vibrating  seg- 
ments by  the  formation  of  one  or  more  nodes  in  the 
length  and  breadth  of  the  cords.  Again,  we  hold 


116  VOICE  BUILDING. 

that  the  separate  notes  in  the  chest  register  are  the 
result  of  varying  changes  of  tension  brought  about 
by  the  intrinsic  muscles  of  the  larynx  and  of  the 
vocal  cords  themselves ;  but  that  in  the  head  regis- 
ter the  vocal  cords  are  divided  into  two  or  more 
vibrating  segments,  and  become  to  a  certain  extent 
flexible  reeds,  sometimes  commanding  and  some- 
times commanded  by  the  vibrations  of  the  columns 
of  air  in  the  resonating  cavities  above.  The  tones  are 
not  always  the  result  of  the  vibrations  of  the  cords 
themselves  imparted  to  the  air,  but  of  the  vibra- 
tions of  the  air  column  in  the  vocal  tube  and  reso- 
nating cavities.  And  so  we  find  that  the  more  per- 
fect the  management  of  the  resonating  cavities  hi 
the  vocal  apparatus,  the  more  readily  the  air  col- 
umn is  subdivided  and  the  richer  the  voice  becomes 
in  overtones. 

The  production  of  tone  in  the  human  larynx  is 
similar  to  a  combination  of  tone  production  in  reed 
instruments  and  tongue  flutes,  the  vocal  cords  of 
the  larynx  taking  the  place  of  the  tongue  in  flutes 
and  of  the  reed  in  reed  instruments.  The  throat, 
mouth,  and  the  cavities  above  assist  in  the  forma- 
tion of  tone  in  the  same  way  as  do  the  hollow  spaces 
in  these  instruments.  There  can  hardly  be  a  doubt 
that,  as  in  flutes,  the  air  in  the  cavities  of  the  human 
organs  of  speech  vibrates  in  some  persons  for  the 


TI1K    KK<;  1ST  Kits  OF  THE   HUMAN  VOICE.    H7 

lower  or  first  notes  as  a  whole,  for  the  medium 
notes  in  two  air  columns,  and  for  the  upper  in 
three.  In  very  highly  trained  voices,  moreover,  a 
fourth  register  or  falsetto  may  be  developed  which 
has  always  a  beautifully  clear,  birdlike  quality. 
This  has  been  observed  mostly  in  soprano  and  alto 
voices,  and  in  such  cases  the  column  of  air  is  prob- 
ably quartered. 

The  position  of  the  larynx  varies  in  the  head 
register,  but  we  have  observed  that  it  does  not 
necessarily  rise  as  the  scale  ascends,  as  is  so  com- 
monly supposed,  and  certainly  not  in  the  method 
employed  by  many  of  our  best  singers.  This  fact 
was  also  noted  by  Chater,  who  found  that,  in  pass- 
ing from  the  chest  to  the  head  register,  there 
occurred  frequently  a  fall  of  the  larynx  to  a 
slightly  lower  position,  and  where  this  was  the  case 
there  was  encountered  an  entire  absence  of  muscu- 
lar contraction  and  facial  contortion  which  often 
accompanies  the  singing  of  the  head  register. 

The  position  and  movements  of  the  vocal  cords 
in  the  production  of  tone  have  been  the  source  of 
much  acrimonious  discussion.  Photographs  galore 
of  the  cords  emitting  different  notes  have  been 
made  and,  we  fear,  touched  up  to  meet  precon- 
ceived requirements,  and  much  ink  has  been  wasted 

in  describing  what  different  observers  saw  or  did 
0 


118  VOICE  BUILDING. 

not  see.  This  can  not  be  wondered  at  when  we 
reflect  that  the  ordinary  laryngoscopic  mirror  was 
used  and  conclusions  drawn  as  to  the  delicate 
intrinsic  movements  of  the  vocal  cords  from  this 
fleeting  picture. 

Oertel,  of  Munich,  was  the  first  to  apply  more 
delicate  and  scientific  methods  to  the  examination 
of  the  vocal  cords.  As  far  back  as  1878,  in  the 
Centralblatt  for  Scientific  Medicine,  he  published  an 
article  describing  an  instrument  called  the  laryngo- 
stroboscope,  used  for  the  examination  of  the  vocal 
cords  in  phonation.  In  a  very  important  article  in 
the  Archives  fur  Laryngologie  for  1895,  Oertel  re- 
turns to  the  subject,  and,  with  the  aid  of  a  much 
improved  instrument,  he  has  established  some  new 
and  very  important  facts,  both  as  to  the  vibration 
of  membranes  and  of  the  vocal  cords. 

Briefly,  the  stroboscope  is  an  instrument  which 
enables  us  to  see  the  intrinsic  movements  of  any 
vibrating  object,  such  as  a  string,  a  membrane,  or 
the  vocal  cords  of  the  human  larynx.  The  instru- 
ment, as  perfected  by  Oertel,  is  shown  in  Figs.  30 
and  31.  Behind  the  large  reflector  M  is  a  rotating 
disk  S,  in  the  periphery  of  which  there  are  rows 
of  holes,  a  b  c,  respectively  32,  16,  and  8  in 
number,  covering  three  octaves.  By  the  handle 
B  the  reflector  can  be  placed  over  one  or  the  other 


THE  REGISTERS  OF  THE  HUMAN  VOICE.    H9 

row  of  holes.  The  disk  is  made  to  rotate  by  the 
motor  D?  whose  rate  can  be  regulated  by  the 
rheostat  E.  On  the  other  hand,  the  rate  of  the 


s 


FIG.  30. 


120 


VOICE  BUILDING. 


disk  itself  may  be  further  controlled  by  a  brake, 
Y.      In  order  to  find  the  exact  rate   of  interrup- 


M 


THE  REGISTERS  OF  THE  HUMAN   VOICE.    121 

tion  of  the  disk,  and  its  relation  to  the  rate  of  vibra- 
tion of  the  membrane,  which  is  an  absolute  neces- 
sity in  the  examination  of  the  vocal  cords,  the  disk 
is  arranged  so  that  it  acts  as  a  siren,  and  we  can  get 
an  exact  correspondence  between  the  note  of  the 
cords  and  of  the  disk.  In  other  words,  we  can  get 
synchronism  between  the  vibrations  of  the  two. 
When  the  tone  of  the  vocal  cords  is  the  same  as 
that  of  the  disk,  we  see  the  vocal  cords  apparently 
at  rest,  but  by  varying  the  rapidity  of  the  rotating 
disk  the  intrinsic  movements  of  the  vocal  cords 
become  very  distinct.  This  may  be  readily  under- 
stood when  we  remember,  that  when  there  is  unison 
between  the  tone  of  the  disk  and  that  of  the  vocal 
cords,  in  the  time  which  elapses  between  the  appear- 
ance of  the  vocal  cords  through  one  hole  and  their 
appearance  through  the  next,  the  cords  will  have 
completed  one  vibration,  and  consequently  will  be 
seen  as  if  at  rest.  If,  however,  the  rate  of  the  disk 
is  slower  than  the  oscillations  of  the  vocal  cords,  the 
vocal  cords  will  have  finished  one  excursion  to  and 
fro,  and  begun  a  second,  before  a  second  hole  comes 
to  give  us  a  glimpse  of  them.  Thus,  with  a  dif- 
ference of  ,  for  example,  between  the  rate  of  the 

TL 

disk  and  that  of  the  vibration  of  the  cords,  the 
cords  between  each  opening  will  have  described 


122  VOICE  BUILDING. 

n  -j- 1  movement  in  time,  but  we  see  only  the  move- 
ment represented  by  n,  and  so  in  a  given  series  we 
see  the  membranes  moving  as  slowly  as  we  please, 
and  we  may  observe  any  portion  of  their  surfaces. 
By  magnifying  the  size  of  the  vocal  cords  we  are 
enabled  to  see  very  plainly  under  the  stroboscope 
their  intrinsic  movements.  In  order  to  get  such  a 
magnified  image  of  the  cords,  a  telescope,  F,  Fig.  30, 
is  fixed  to  the  instrument.  Any  method  of  illumina- 
tion of  the  throat  may  be  used,  and  the  hand  mirror 
is  introduced  and  manipulated  as  in  an  ordinary 
laryngoscopic  examination. 

In  the  article  above  referred  to,  Oertel  begins 
by  saying,  and  we  entirely  agree  with  him,  that  the 
theoretical  assumption  that  in  the  upper  register  the 
free  border  only  of  the  vocal  cord  vibrates,  lacks 
any  anatomical,  physiological,  or  physical  basis.  To 
produce  this  condition,  where  only  a  thin  edge  of 
the  cords  is  presented  to  the  outgoing  air,  the  inter- 
nal fibres  of  the  thyro-arytenoid  muscle  would  have 
to  be  strongly  contracted,  and  the  elastic  fibres  of 
the  cords  themselves  considerably  narrowed,  and 
the  result  of  any  such  contraction  of  the  muscle 
would  be  to  very  greatly  narrow  the  glottic  slit, 
which  is  exactly  the  condition  we  do  not  find  in  the 
head  tones.  On  the  contrary,  we  know  that,  in  this 
register  there  is  a  comparatively  wide  glottis,  which 


THE  .REGISTERS  OF  THE  HUMAN  VOICE.    123 

fact  excludes  the  possibility  of  any  such  active  par- 
ticipation of  the  thyroid-arytenoid  muscle  in  the 
formation  and  shape  of  the  vocal  cords  in  this  regis- 
ter. Furthermore,  observation  and  experiment  con- 
vinced Oertel  that  this  muscle  is,  in  the  head  regis- 
ter, only  passive  in  its  action,  simply  giving  tone 
and  elasticity  to  the  vocal  ligament.  That  the  edge 
only  of  an  elastic  membrane  should  be  set  into  vi- 
bration by  the  air  blowing  against  it  is  impossible, 
and  a  further  argument  against  this  theory.  We 
must  therefore  look  for  another  explanation  of  the 
action  of  the  cords  in  the  upper  register  than  the 
one  so  generally  held,  that  in  this  register,  the  vi- 
brations are  limited  either  to  the  free  edge  only,  or 
to  the  mucous  covering  of  the  cords. 

That  it  is,  however,  that  segment  of  the  cords 
near  the  free  border  that  is  thrown  into  most  active 
vibration  in  the  high  register,  can  be  seen  even  with 
the  ordinary  laryngoscope.  In  mild  cases  of  ca- 
tarrh, says  Oertel,  and  we  have  often  noticed  the 
same  phenomenon,  tiny  pearls  of  mucus  may  be 
seen  to  move  from  the  ventricles  of  Morgagni  out 
toward  the  edge  of  the  vocal  cords  and  run  toward 
apparently  fixed  points,  where  they  remain  till  ex- 
pectorated. Observers  have  always  spoken  of  these 
spots  as  nodal  points  on  the  cords.  Oertel  says  that 
this  is  not  the  case ;  that,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  the  tiny 


)24:  VOICE  BUILDING. 

pearls  of  mucus  are  driven  by  the  centrifugal  force 
of  the  vibrating  vocal  cords  to  the  middle  point  of 
the  vibrating  segment,  and  from  thence  are  thrown 
outward.  They  mark,  then,  if  anything,  points  of 
greatest  movement  in  the  vibrating  segments,  and 
not  points  of  rest.*  This  fact  Oertel  proved  con- 
clusively with  rubber  membranes  stretched  over  a 
tube  through  which  air  might  be  blown,  and  over  fun- 
nels of  different  sizes  connected  with  the  tube.  On 
the  membranes  were  placed  little  drops  of  a  mucus- 
like  jelly,  and  when  the  membrane  was  set  vibrating 
the  drops  were  thrown  toward  the  free  edge,  from 
which  points  they  would  be  expelled,  or  they  some- 
times moved  along  the  free  edge  to  the  point  of  great- 
est vibration  in  the  middle  of  the  segment,  and  from 
there  would  be  carried  out  by  the  blast  of  air.  The 
points  at  which  the  pearls  of  mucus  would  come  to 
rest  were  not  fixed,  but  varied  very  much  from 


*  This  observation  confirms  the  theory  advanced  several  years 
ago  by  the  author  as  to  the  formation  of  nodules  of  attrition  in 
singers'  cords,  and  explains  the  removal  of  the  same  by  exercises 
in  vocalization,  which  exercises  were  theoretically  supposed  to 
make  the  cords  vibrate  in  a  way  which  prevented  their  ventral 
segments  from  touching ;  the  method  employed  being  a  change 
of  the  plan  of  vibration  of  the  cords,  by  bringing  into  use  the 
overtones  which  were  always  found  lacking  in  singers  subject 
to  this  affection.  See,  The  Effects  on  the  Vocal  Cords  of  Im- 
proper Methods  of  Voice  Production,  and  their  Remedy,  read 
before  the  Pan-American  Medical  Congress,  1893. 


THE  REGISTERS  OF  THE   HUMAN  VOICE.    125 

time  to  time  in  each  membrane,  so  that  there 
could  be  no  doubt  that  they  were  not  nodal  points. 
These  facts  most  conclusively  prove  that  the  vibrat- 
ing membrane  in  the  upper  register  is  not  limited 
to  the  free  border  of  the  cords,  and .  least  of  all  to 
its  mucous  covering.  Oertel  found,  too,  the  inter- 
esting fact  that  the  greater  the  difference  between 
the  diameter  of  the  tube  and  that  of  the  mouth  of 
the  funnel,  the  smaller  relatively  became  the  trans- 
verse diameter  of  the  vibrating  portion  of  the  mem- 
brane. And  so  in  the  case  of  the  human  larynx  in 
its  relation  to  the  trachea ;  that  portion  of  the  vo- 
cal cords  lying  against  the  thyroid  cartilage  would 
be  set  into  greater  or  less  vibration  by  the  air, 
according  to  the  relative  diameter  of  the  larynx  as 
compared  with  that  of  the  upper  trachea.  We 
shall  see  that  the  above  statements  are  confirmed  by 
stroboscopic  examination  of  the  vocal  cords  in  the 
chest  and  head  registers,  to  which  experiments  we 
shall  presently  refer.  The  vibration  of  membranes 
as  seen  by  the  stroboscope  is  interesting,  and  has  a 
direct  bearing  upon  the  vibrations  of  the  vocal 
cords  as  seen  in  the  same  manner.  Oertel  found 
that  membranes  set  in  motion  by  an  air  blast  vi- 
brate in  their  entire  length  and  breadth,  and  at  the 
same  time  they  subdivide  into  segments,  longitudi- 
nally and  transversely,  the  segments  being  divided 


126 


VOICE  BUILDING. 


Fio.  32. 


by  nodal  lines.  Under  these  conditions  the  mem- 
brane vibrates  longitudinally,  like  a  stretched  string 
(Fig.  32,  D,  g),  transversely,  as  a  rod  fixed  at  one 
end  (Fig.  32,  E,  F,  G-).  Two  membranes  under  the 


THE  REGISTERS  OF  THE  HUMAN  VOICE.    127 

same  tension  vibrate  synchronously  (Fig.  32,  A). 
If,  however — and  this  is  important  in  view  of  its 
application  to  the  vocal  cords — they  are  subjected 
to  a  different  tension,  the  vibrations  become  alter- 
nate (Fig.  32,  B).  Oertel  was  the  first  to  discover 
this  fact,  and  it  has  been  confirmed  by  Koschlakoff  * 
and  Simanowski.f 

In  its  transverse  diameter  the  membrane  is  di- 
vided by  nodal  lines,  between  which  are  well- 
marked  waves  of  vibration,  Fig.  32,  C,  a  1)  being 
the  slit  of  the  glottis.  The  first  nodal  line  is  close 
to  the  free  border  of  the  membrane,  and  divides  it 
into  a  wave  whose  width  is  about  one  quarter  that 
of  the  latter.  The  waves  increase  in  length  very 
greatly  as  they  near  the  free  border  of  the  mem- 
brane, and  vibrate  in  opposite  directions,  that  is 
while  the  crest  of  one  is  above,  the  crest  of  the 
next  is  below  the  level.  A  cross  section  of  the 
membrane  under  these  conditions  gives  an  exact 
picture  of  a  vibrating  rod  fixed  at  one  end  and 
divided  by  nodal  points  (Fig.  32,  G).  Longitudi- 
nally, nodal  points  are  formed  on  the  free  edge, 
and  the  membrane  is  divided  into  separate  vibrating 


*  Wratsch,  St.  Petersburg.  1884,  No.  38  ;  Pfliigers  Archives 
fur  Physiologic,  1885,  Band  34 ;  Pfliigers  Archives  fur  Physi- 
ologic, 1886,  Band  38,  p.  428. 

f  Russkaja  Medicina,  1885,  No.  34. 


128  VOICE  BUILDING. 

segments.  Oertel  most  often  saw  a  nodal  point  es- 
tablish itself  at  about  one  quarter  the  length  of 
the  membrane  (Fig.  32,  D  1} ;  they  established  them- 
selves, however,  at  other  points  under  certain  con- 
ditions, as  in  cdefg,  Fig.  32  D.  The  vibration 
of  the  segments  of  the  free  border  are  best  seen 
when  the  membranes  are  not  vibrating  synchro- 
nously. Longitudinal  vibrations  extend  but  a  very 
little  distance  transversely  over  the  membrane,  and 
a  longitudinal  section  of  the  free  edge  gives  a  pic- 
ture like  that  of  a  string  set  into  segmental  vibra- 
tion. Imbert,*  using  Oertel's  stroboscope,  found 
that  rubber  membranes  set  into  vibration  divided 
themselves  into  segments  separated  by  nodal  lines,  as 
shown  in  Fig.  33,  in  which  the  membrane  is  seen  in 


FIG.  33. 

transverse  section,  D  being  the  fixed  and  O  the  free 
border  of  the  same.  B  is  a  true  nodal  point,  and  is 
formed  both  when  the  membrane  is  set  in  motion 
by  the  air  or  when  it  is  pulled  up  by  its  free  border. 
It  is  plainly  the  result  of  the  interference  of  the  di- 
rect waves  and  those  reflected  from  the  fixed  end  D. 

*  Nouv.  Montpellier  Medicale,  1892,  Supplement,  p.  149. 


THE   REGISTERS  OP  THE  HUMAN   VOICE.    129 

A  and  C  are  nodes  of  inflection,  A  being  caused  by 
the  alternate  rarefaction  and  condensation  of  the  air 
in  the  box  over  which  the  membrane  is  stretched, 
by  the  vibration  of  the  free  edge  of  the  membrane. 


FIG.  34. 

This  node,  he  thinks,  corresponds  to  OertePs  nodal 
line  seen  in  the  vocal  cords.  The  nodal  line  C  is 
formed  by  the  posterior  section  B  D  spontaneously 
dividing  itself  into  segments  which  can  vibrate 
synchronously  with  the  segments  O  A  and  A  B. 
If  the  transverse  tension  of  the  membrane  is  in- 
creased the  pitch  of  the  note  will  gradually  rise 
until  it  becomes  bi-tonal.  Increasing  the  tension 
still  further,  the  nodes  A  and  C  will  disappear,  and 
there  will  be  a  sudden  fall  of  pitch.  Imbert  found 
that  when  he  damped  the  membrane  in  the  middle 
with  a  solid  plate,  N  A  (Fig.  34),  on  its  being  moved 
toward  O  the  pitch  fell ;  if  moved  toward  B  it  be- 
came higher.  If  the  part  A  B  is  covered  by  a  sec- 
ond plate,  there  is  a  remarkable  increase  in  the  in- 
tensity of  the  tone,  the  reason  being  that  in  this 
case  a  part  of  the  membrane  is  damped,  which  could 
with  difficulty  vibrate  in  unison  with  the  anterior 


130  VOICE  BUILDING. 

segment.  He  proved  this  by  damping  the  lower 
part  of  a  rubber  tube,  which  was  fixed  on  the  end 
of  a  rigid  one,  through  which  air  was  blown.  If, 
under  these  conditions,  the  free  end  of  the  tube  was 
drawn  into  a  glottislike  opening,  and  a  solid  plate 
was  pressed  against  the  lower  part  of  the  rubber 
tube,  the  intensity  of  the  tone  was  greatly  increased. 
Indeed,  even  the  slight  pressure  of  a  lead  pencil 
against  certain  points  had  the  same  effect.  In  both 
these  cases  the  augmentation  of  the  tone  was  due  to 
the  subdivision  of  the  tube  into  segments  which 
readily  vibrated  in  unison.  Imbert  applies  the  re- 
sults of  these  experiments  on  membranes  to  the 
larynx,  as  follows : 

He  thinks  that  the  internal  thyro-arytenoid  mus- 
cle acts  as  the  plate  did  when  applied  to  the  mem- 
brane. It  increases  or  decreases  the  vibrating  sur- 
face of  the  vocal  cords,  and  so  raises  or  lowers  the 
pitch.  We  should  liken  the  action  of  the  internal 
thyro-arytenoid  muscle  in  limiting  the  vibrating  sur- 
face of  the  vocal  cords,  to  that  of  the  wire  which  is 
used  in  some  organ  pipes  to  press  against  the  reed 
to  lengthen  or  shorten  it,  and  thus  to  vary  its  rate 
of  vibration. 

Imbert  thinks  that  the  increase  and  decrease  of 
pitch  observed  by  varying  the  transverse  tension  of 
a  membrane  may  have  its  counterpart  in  the  stretch- 


THE  REGISTERS  OP  THE  HUMAN  VOICE.    131 


ing  of  the  mucous  covering  of  the  larynx  and  cords, 
which  may  result  from  the  rise  or  fall  of  the  thy- 
roid cartilage. 

Koschlakoff,  examining  the  vibrations  of  mem- 
branes with  the  stroboscope  in  an  artificial  larynx, 
as  shown  in  Fig.  35,  confirmed  in  every  detail  the 
experiments  of  Oertel.  In  a  former  chapter  we  sug- 
gested that  the  angle  of  incidence  of  the  vocal  cords 
must  have  a  considerable  effect  on  the  formation  of 
the  tone.  In  this  connection  Koschlakoff  makes 
the  interesting  statement  that 
the  angle  of  incidence  of  the 
cords  affects  the  type  of  their 
vibration,  alternate  vibrations 
being  generally  found  where 
the  angle  of  incidence  is  small, 
and  that  as  the  angle  increased 
the  more  distinctly  synchro- 
nous the  vibrations  became. 
He  found,  too,  that  where  the 
vibrations  were  alternate  the  cord  vibrated  as  a  whole, 
but  as  they  became  synchronous  the  vocal  cords 
were  divided  into  segments.  We  have  thus  seen 
that  membranes  do  divide  themselves  into  segments, 
and  that  under  all  conditions  the  entire  membrane 
is  set  into  vibration  ;  that  in  certain  conditions,  how- 
ever, it  is  the  outer  edge  and  the  more  superficial 


FIG.  35.— Artificial  larynx 
with  rubber  mem- 
branes. 


132  VOICE  BUILDING. 

parts  which  participate  most  violently  in  the  vibra- 
tions. "We  shall  see  that  these  phenomena  are  to  a 
considerable  extent  reproduced  in  the  vibrations  of 
the  vocal  cords  when  seen  with  the  stroboscope. 

To  pass  now  to  the  movements  of  the  vocal 
cords  as  seen  in  the  stroboscope. 

THE  CHEST  REGISTER. — If  the  disk  of  the  strobo- 
scope and  the  vocal  cords  are  vibrating  in  unison, 
and  the  lowest  note  is  sounded,  the  vocal  cords  will 
be  seen  at  rest,  with  a  transverse  concavity  extend- 
ing along  their  entire  length,  and  their  free  border 
forming  a  convex  line  which  extends  from  their 
posterior  to  their  anterior  insertion.  If  the  relation 
between  the  rate  of  the  disk  of  the  stroboscope  and 
the  oscillation  of  the  vocal  cords  is  changed — that  is, 


Fio.  36. — Vibration  of  the  vocal  cords  in  the  chest  register  in  trans- 
verse section. 

if  the  disk  is  made  to  revolve  more  slowly — the  vo- 
cal cords  will  be  seen  throughout  their  entire  length 
and  breadth  in  oscillation,  and  in  such  a  way  that 
the  extent  of  the  excursion  of  individual  points  in- 
creases with  their  distance  from  the  fixed  border  of 
the  cords  (Fig.  36). 


THE  REGISTERS  OF  THE  HUMAN  VOICE.    133 

The  vibrations  of  the  cords  are  synchronous,  and 
the  extent  of  oscillation  considerable.  When  a 
higher  tone  is  sounded  an  increase  in  length  and  a 
decrease  in  the  breadth  of  the  vocal  cords  is  dis- 
tinctly visible,  but  at  this  point  the  intrinsic  move- 
ments of  the  cords  are  lost,  not  to  appear  again 
until  the  disk  is  set  rotating  at  or  about  the  rate  of 
vibration  of  the  vocal  cords  (Fig.  37). 

THE  UPPER  KEGISTER. — Here  again  the  vocal 
cords  are  seen  vibrating  throughout  their  entire 


Fio.  87.— Vibration  of  the  vocal  cords  in  the  upper  register  in 
transverse  section. 


length  and  breadth,  but  the  character  of  the  move- 
ments is  entirely  altered.  First,  the  vocal  cords  °rr 
flatter  and  their  edges  thinner,  and  they  are  divided 
into  segments  which  have  their  own  rate  of  vibra 

tion.     This  division  is  characterized  by  a  faint  oval 
10 


134  VOICE  BUILDING. 

line,  marking  off  a  narrow  zone  comparatively  close 
to  the  free  border. 

This  oval  line  is  a  nodal  line  which  divides  the 
cord  into  two  unequal  segments  (Fig.  32  F).  In 
this  case  a  node  has  been  developed  at  <?,  and  we 
have  a  wave  which  takes  up  in  cross  section  three 
quarters  of  the  width  of  the  cord.  The  extent  of 
the  movement  of  the  peripheral  segment  is  small. 

The  vocal  cord  is  thus  divided  into  two  unequal 
segments,  and  its  movement  may  again  be  likened 
to  the  transverse  vibration  of  a  rod  fixed  at  one  end, 
where  at  three  quarters  of  its  length  a  node  has 
been  developed.  As  the  tone  goes  higher  the  in- 
trinsic movements  again  disappear,  only  to  return 
when  the  disk  vibrates  at  or  about  the  rate  of  the 
vocal  cords.  Oertel  says  that  in  one  case  only,  in  a 
cultivated  singer,  with  a  remarkable  falsetto,  who 
had  very  broad,  vocal  cords,  did  he  see  a  second  nodal 
line,  as  in  Fig.  32,  Gr.  In  this  case  the  vocal  cord 
was  divided  into  three  segments.  As  the  result  of 
these  observations,  we  are  justified  in  saying  that 
tone  in  the  chest  register  is  produced  by  the  vibra- 
tions of  the  vocal  cords  themselves  through  their 
entire  length  and  breadth ;  in  the  upper  register  by 
their  subdivision  into  vibrating  segments,  separated 
by  nodal  lines.  OertePs  observations  on  the  living 
larynx  have  been  confirmed  in  every  particular  by 


THE   REGISTERS  OF  THE  HUMAN  VOICE.    135 

Koschlakoff,  except  that  he  saw  a  second  nodal  line 
but  once,  and  that  was  in  an  exsected  larynx  with 
which  he  was  experimenting.  Curiously,  it  was  in 
a  larynx  the  mucous  membrane  of  which  was  much 
infiltrated  and  loosened,  and  the  whole  cord  consid- 
erably broadened,  which  partially  fulfilled  the  con- 
dition present,  i.  e.,  of  a  broad  vocal  cord,  where 
Oertel  saw  two  nodal  lines.  Koschlakoff  is  of  the 
opinion  that  the  formation  of  more  than  one  nodal 
line  in  the  cords  is  found  under  pathological  condi- 
tions only.  Under  normal  conditions  he  saw  but 
one  nodal  line  in  the  cords,  in  the  artificial,  the  liv- 
ing, and  the  exsected  larynx.  In  his  experience, 
both  in  the  head  and  in  the  chest  register,  the  ten- 
sion of  the  vocal  cords  increased  as  the  note  was 
raised.  The  movement  in  the  upper  register  of  the 
outer  segment  of  the  cords  was  very  small,  that  of 
the  inner  segment — that  is,  the  free  border  of  the 
cord — much  greater,  but  nothing  like  so  extensive  as 
the  movement  of  the  cords  in  the  chest  register. 
Koschlakoff  also  confirmed  the  alternate  oscillation 
of  membranes  under  different  tension.  In  order  to 
see  if  this  were  true  for  the  vocal  cords,  Sima- 
nowski  cut  the  crico-thyroid  muscle  on  one  side,  in 
one  experiment,  and  exsected  the  superior  laryngeal 
nerve  in  another.  In  both  cases  he  found  that  the 
alteration  of  tension  thus  produced  caused  alternate 


136  VOICE  BUILDING. 

oscillations  of  the  vocal  cords.  Alternate  oscilla- 
tions of  the  vocal  cords  were  found  to  take  place, 
according  to  Oertel,  where  in  acute  or  chronic  laryn- 
gitis the  thickness  of  the  cord  had  been  increased, 
and  there  was  a  corresponding  loss  of  tension.  He 
mentions  the  case  of  an  old  man  where  there  was 
very  great  relaxation  and  sagging  of  the  superficial 
layer  of  the  cords,  and  where  the  elastic  parts  could 
be  plainly  differentiated  from  the  internal  fibres  of 
the  thyro-arytenoid  muscle.  Here,  too,  he  found 
the  same  alternate  vibrations,  and  distinct  segmental 
vibrations  of  the  vocal  cords  through  the  building 
of  nodal  lines.  It  may  be  remembered  that  Oertel 
stated  that  nodal  lines  were  always  more  plainly  to 
be  seen  in  those  membranes  which  were  unequally 
tensed,  and  in  which  there  were  consequently  alter- 
nate vibrations,  conditions  which  were  satisfied  in 
this  latter  case. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

TONE    PLACING. THE   APPLICATION    OF    THE    CORRECT 

FOCUS  OF  TONE  IN  REMOVING  PATHOLOGICAL  CON- 
DITIONS, CAUSED  BY  THE  USE  OF  IMPROPER  METH- 
ODS OF  VOICE  PRODUCTION. 

A  MAJORITY  of  singers  lose  their  voices  not  from 
overwork,  but  as  a  result  of  improper  emission  and 
respiration. 

The  muscles  of  the  larynx,  like  those  of  the 
arms  and  legs,  get  similarly  tired  and  exhausted 
after  excessive  work.  The  baseball  player  and  the 
golfer  lack  proper  co-ordination  after  a  long  game, 
and  their  delivery  or  stroke,  as  the  case  may  be,  be- 
comes uncertain.  So  with  the  singer  after  overwork ; 
as  the  muscles  of  the  larynx  tire  there  ensues  a  lack 
of  perfect  equilibrium,  and  the  tones  are  produced 
by  forcing,  in  an  attempt  to  overcome  the  uncer- 
tainty which  one  always  feels  as  the  result  of  loss  of 
tension  from  muscular  fatigue.  We  often  observe  in 
the  laryngoscopic  mirror,  after  the  singer  has  over- 
strained them,  a  dusky  congestion  of  the  cords  an<} 


138  VOICE   BUILDING. 

a  slight  bulging  of  their  middle  third.  If  one  looks 
closely  and  asks  the  person  to  sing  a  note  in  the  me- 
dium, it  is  remarked  that  the  cords  touch  one  an- 
other in  the  bellied  portion.  We  say  often,  for, 
unfortunately,  the  stroke  of  the  glottis  is  so  gener- 
ally taught  even  to-day  that  this  picture  is  con- 
stantly presented. 

It  is  very  important  for  the  laryngologist  and 
the  scientific  teacher  to  accurately  observe  the  mid- 
dle portion  of  singers'  cords,  for  by  this  means  one 
is  able  to  determine  whether  the  so-called  method 
of  production  is  correct  or  otherwise.  Long  before 
the  nodules  of  attrition  appear  on  the  cords,  we  are 
enabled  to  observe  that  there  is  a  tendency  toward 
these  dreaded  growths,  the  Mte  noire  of  artists. 

First  we  should  investigate  the  tendency  to 
touch  in  the  middle,  or,  more  properly  speaking, 
the  junction  of  the  anterior  and  middle  third,  in 
sinking  the  medium  register.  This  condition  should 
be  looked  for  in  this  register,  for  it  can  not  be  ob- 
served when  the  cords  are  put  in  greatest  tension 
until  much  later. 

The  subjective  symptoms  are  these  :  Pupils  com- 
plain that  they  are  losing  their  piano  notes,  and  it  is 
difficult  to  sing  mezza-voce. 

At  the  commencement  of  this  condition  the 
high  notes  are  as  good  as  ever,  for  the  reason  that 


TONE    PLACING.  139 

in  greater  tension  the  cords  do  not  touch  in  the 
centre.  The  next  complaint  we  hear  is  that  the 
singer  is  beginning  to  sing  a  trifle  off  the  pitch,  and 
they  complain  that  for  the  first  time,  they  are  hoarse 
after  singing. 

Absolute  rest  will  cure  this  stage  of  the  malady, 
and  the  books  all  are  agreed  as  to  the  advice  that 
should  be  given  in  these  cases — to  wit,  three  months 
to  a  year  of  absolute  rest. 

This  is  a  very  easy  thing  to  say  in  one's  office, 
but  how  many  times  it  means  to  the  patient  the 
cessation  of  income  and  a  condition  of  absolute  want 
staring  him  in  the  face.  For  the  benefit  of  tins 
class  of  patients  it  is  our  purpose  to  introduce  some 
exercises,  which  oftentimes  will  restore  an  absolutely 
wornout  voice  in  the  short  space  of  a  few  days. 
These  exercises  have  been  employed  by  scores  of 
artists  at  our  suggestion,  and  as  we  have  yet  to  hear 
a  dissenting  voice  as  to  their  efficacy,  it  is  with  a 
certain  degree  of  confidence  that  we  advance  the 
theory  upon  which  this  chapter  is  founded. 

With  the  following  axioms  we  presuppose  the 
pupil  to  have  become  familiar : 

1.  Singing  should  be  done  with  the  least  possible 
effort. 

2.  No  excessive  external   muscular  contraction 
should  interfere  with  the  natural  play  of  the  thyroid 


140  VOICE  BUILDING. 

and  cricoid  cartilages  (the  larynx)  during  tone  pro- 
duction. 

3.  In  exit  the  tone  should  be  allowed  to  resonate 
in  all  the  natural  acoustic  cavities  and   attain  its 
greatest  complement  of  overtones  or  harmonics. 

4.  The  respiration  should  be  so  regulated  that 
the  greatest  amplitude  of  vibration  of  the  cords  be 
produced  with  the  least  possible  air  blast. 

5.  The  intrinsic  muscles  of  the  larynx  should  be 
so  trained  that  attrition  of  the  cords  becomes  an 
impossibility. 

6.  The  health  of  the  body  should  be  kept  at  the 
best,  that  the  mucous  membranes  of  the  throat  and 
nose  do  not  thicken  and  affect  the  timbre  or  quality 
of  the  voice. 

7.  The  facial  muscles  and  the  muscles  of  the 
neck  should  not  involuntarily  contract  during  tone 
production. 

8.  The  tongue  and  soft  palate  should  be  re- 
laxed, except  in  the  employment  of  the  necessary 
muscular  action  required  in  articulation  and  tone 
modification. 

If  we  study  the  formation  of  the  consonants  we 
perceive  that  M,  P,  and  B  are  essentially  produced, 
both  in  speaking  and  singing,  upon  the  lips ;  hence 
they  are  called  labials. 

The  letters  T,  D,  and  often  N  are  formed  on  a. 


TONE  PLACING. 

plane  passing  vertically  through  the  front  teeth,  and 
are  consequently  known  as  dentals. 

A  combination  of  labial  and  dental  is  discovered 
in  pronouncing  F  and  Y. 

If  we  now  go  backward,  imagining  a  succession 
of  vertical  planes  through  the  mouth,  we  find  in 
pronouncing  the  consonants  that  the  sides  of  the 
tongue  approximate  to  the  teeth  instead  of  the 
point  which  forms  the  dentals  T  and  D,  and  pro- 
duce in  succession  going  toward  the  soft  palate  C, 
Z,  S,  K,  W,  and  Y. 

These  consonants  may  be  classified  as  linguals 
for  our  purposes. 

The  vowel  sounds  A,  E,  I,  O,  and  U  originate 
in  the  larynx. 

Now  let  us  leave  for  a  moment  the  consideration 
of  the  vertical  plane  and  assume  a  succession  of 
horizontal  planes  from  the  glottis  or  vocal  cords 
to  the  level  of  the  root  of  the  nose.  We  will 
try  in  succession  several  consonants  and  combi- 
nations and  seek  to  determine  the  relative  origin 
of  tone. 

First,  place  the  tip  of  the  finger  upon  the  larynx 
or  Adam's  apple  and  sing  the  words  Mama,  Papa, 
Baba,  May,  Pay,  and  Bay,  and  then  sing  the  vowel 
E,  pronounced  as  in  ear.  We  observe  that  there  is 
more  commotion  under  the  finger  when  E  is  sung 


14-3  VOICE  BUILDING. 

than  when  Ma  or  Pa  is  attempted,  and  the  origin  of 
the  vowel  is  in  the  larynx. 

The  same  will  be  found  true  of  Ah,  the  attack 
being  felt  in  the  larynx  proper.  In  singing  the 
labials  P  and  B  we  can  feel  the  air  compressed  be- 
hind the  lips  before  the  tone  breaks  through.  So 
in  singing  Ah  and  E  we  can  feel  the  pressure  of  the 
air  column  below  the  cords  before  the  tone  issues. 

This  production  in  the  larynx  is  known  as  the 
coup  de  glotte,  or  stroke  of  the  glottis.  We  find  by 
prefixing  a  labial  consonant,  M,  P,  or  B,  that  the 
shock  is  reduced  to  a  minimum,  and  the  vocal  cords 
do  not  necessarily  touch  each  other  in  the  initial 
attack ;  hence,  Ma  or  Maw  should  be  the  word  to 
use  in  practice,  and  almost  never  Ah,  and  never  E.* 

The  vowel  E  is  responsible  for  the  ruin  of  many 
a  young  singer's  voice.  It  exists  in  our  language 
and  we  must  sing  it,  but  that  does  not  prove  that  we 
must  ruin  our  throats  to  attain  it,  nor  employ  it  in 
practising  if  it  is  harmful. 

That  the  vowels  A,  pronounced  as  in  ah,  and 
E,  as  in  me,  are  injurious  when  given  with  the 

*  Madam  Melba  has  repeatedly  told  me  that  she  never  prac- 
tises her  highest  notes.  She  simply  "  feels  "  that  they  are  pres- 
ent by  the  general  condition  of  her  throat  and  voice,  and  she 
does,  not  attempt  them  except  when  she  uses  them  on  the  stage. 
Her  exercises  for  warming  the  voice  always  commence  with  Ma, 
sung  dans  le  masque  in  the  medium  register. 


TONE  PLACING.  143 

shock  or  stroke  of  the  glottis,  is  evidenced  in  nu- 
merous pupils  of  singing  who  present  themselves  to 
have  their  throats  treated,  thinking  that  their  laryn- 
gitis is  due  to  causes  other  than  their  pernicious 
method  of  practising  their  vocal  exercises. 

The  exercises  which  have  proved  beneficial  to 
the  singer  with  bulged  cords  and  to  those  who  pre- 
sent nodules  of  attrition  are  based  upon  the  forego- 
ing considerations. 

If  a  person  in  riding  has  been  pulled  for  a  long 
time  by  a  gay  horse  the  arms  and  hands  become 
numb  and  stiff  with  fatigue  and  overstrain.  To 
cure  this  condition  we  might  tell  the  horseman  to 
rest  and  he  would  recover  in  a  few  hours.  To  em- 
ploy dumb-bells  in  mild  exercises  would  facilitate 
the  restitution  of  a  normal  condition  in  less  time 
than  if  rest  alone  were  employed ;  while  if  passive 
massage  were  combined  with  the  dumb-bells  the 
recovery  would  take  place  in  even  a  shorter  space  of 
time. 

It  is  upon  a  similar  theory  that  we  have  devel- 
oped the  means  which  we  consider  very  important 
factors  in  the  care  and  development  of  the  human 
voice.  By  studying  the  laws  of  vibration  of  strings 
and  pipes  in  physics,  we  find  that  there  are  sections 
of  the  vibrating  string  and  portions  of  the  air  in  the 
organ  pipes,  which  do  not  vibrate  with  the  string  or 


144 


VOICE  BUILDING. 


pipe  as  a  whole,  but  which  as  nodes  and  segments 
subdivide  the  string  and  pipe  into  active  and  passive 
portions.  By  careful  observation  we  are  enabled  to 
see  whether  the  vocal  cord  is  making  a  segment  in 
the  centre,  or  whether  the  vocal  cords  are  vibrating 
longitudinally  without  making  a  segment  that 
touches  the  opposite  one  in  vibration. 

If  there  happens  to  be  a  little  mucus  on  the 
cord  it  will  facilitate  the  observation.  The  eye 
must  be  especially  educated  in  order  to  appreciate 
what  it  observes  ;  for  with  students  it  is  very  diffi- 
cult to  make  them  see  even  the  premonitory  pearl 
which  is  the  first  indication  of  the  development  of 
singer's  nodules.  Even  before  the  appearance  of 


FIG.  38. 


the  pearl,  which  is  simply  a  glistening  point,  we 
are  able  to  observe  the  convex  contour  of  the  mar- 
gins, as  shown  in  the  plate  (Fig.  38),  the  cords  tend- 


TONE   PLACING. 


145 


ing  to  converge  in  the  middle.     Another  phase  is 
shown  in  Figs.  39  and  40,  which  shows  the  develop- 


Fio.  40. 


FIG.  41. 


ment  of  the  so-called  double  glottis.     Here  it  would 
look  as  though  the  nodule  of  attrition  had  become 
a  true  node,  but  this  is  not  so,  as  undoubtedly  there 
is  not  a  double  segmen- 
tation of    the  cords   in 
vibration,  but  the  nod- 
ule   is  only  more   pro- 
nounced from  inflamma- 
tory changes.    Two  de- 
ductions may  be  drawn 
from  this  picture,  either 
the  cords  are  being  used 

•  •I      •         fx*  Fio.  42. 

in   singing  with   insuffi- 
cient tension,  or  their  internal  adjustment  by  the 
thyro-arytenoid    muscle   is  faulty,   for    the    latter 


146  VOICE   BUILDING. 

condition  would  cause  an  improper  plan  of  vibra- 
tion. 

The  cords  are  being  injured,  and  the  method  of 
singing  needs  readjustment  to  relieve  this  condition. 

Change  of  method  will  relieve  this  condition 
quicker  than  rest,  instrumentation,  or  drugs.  It  is 
upon  the  same  principle  that  a  change  to  dumb-bells 
will  relieve  the  overstrained  arms  of  the  rider.  We 
must  seek  to  bring  other  resultant  forces  to  work 
to  produce  tension  and  make  the  convexities  of 
the  vibrating  segments  focus  at  another  point. 
This  may  be  brought  about  by  a  change  in  the 
method  of  voice  production. 

We  once  observed  that  all  the  pupils  of  a  cer- 
tain singing  master  had  what  is  known  as  a  breathy 
tone,  and  on  examination  their  cords  presented  the 
picture  as  is  shown  in  Figs.  41  and  42. 

In  questioning  we  found  that  in  the  method 
which  had  produced  this  bowing,  or  elliptical  open- 
ing of  the  glottis,  the  vowel  O  had  been  almost  con- 
stantly employed  in  daily  practice,  and  no  attention 
whatever  given  to  the  respiration,  nearly  twice  as 
many  respirations  as  were  necessary  being  em- 
ployed in  ordinary  phrasing. 

In  another  class  of  pupils  from  a  well-known 
conservatory  where  the  stroke  of  the  glottis  was 
daily  taught  and  practised,  we  observed  the  oppo- 


TONE  PLACING.  147 

site  of  this  condition ;  instead  of  the  ellipse  we 
found  the  cords  bulged,  presenting  a  convexity  one 
toward  the  other  (Figs.  38  and  40),  the  centre  show- 
ing the  result  of  attrition. 

Here  upon  investigation  we  ascertained  that  the 
vowel  A,  as  in  ah,  and  E,  pronounced  as  in  ear, 
were  the  vowels  used  in  the  daily  routine  work  with 
the  explosive  attack.  Having  by  repeated  observa- 
tion verified  the  truth  of  the  hypothesis,  we  under- 
took an  interesting  experiment  to  observe  the  effect  of 
a  change  of  method  upon  the  condition  of  the  cords. 

One  pupil,  ruined  by  the  false  theory  of  the  con- 
servatory, we  advised  to  apply  to  the  teacher  whose 
product  was  elliptical,  and  whose  horror  of  the  coup  de 
glotte  had  carried  him  to  the  extreme  of  breathiness 
of  tone  ;  while  another  pupil  of  the  elliptical  school 
was  sent  to  the  advocate  of  the  "  French  attack." 

To  our  utter  surprise  we  found  both  pupils  ab- 
solutely cured  of  the  condition  of  which  they  com- 
plained at  the  end  of  a  very  few  lessons,  and  each 
roundly  denounced  the  method  and  the  teacher  who 
had  led  them  into  such  error. 

It  was  the  appreciation  of  how  much  lay  in  the 
realm  of  theory  in  teaching,  that  led  us  to  investi- 
gate in  how  far  the  troiibles  of  singers  were  due  to 
their  faulty  emission  and  habits  of  tone  production. 

The  subject  has  proved  so  vast,  yet  so  highly 


14:8  VOICE  BUILDING. 

important,  that  even  with  the  hearty  co-operation 
of  many  of  the  very  best  artists  of  to-day,  we  must 
admit  we  are  but  on  the  threshold  of  truth,  and 
write  our  convictions  with  a  certain  degree  of  pre- 
caution, fully  conscious  that  the  strictly  scientific 
treatment  of  the  subject  will  like  all  other  innova- 
tions, find  plenty  of  adverse  criticism. 

We  can  only  say  that  our  demonstrations  have 
been  so  successful  that  some  of  our  greatest  artists 
have  discarded  the  stroke  of  the  glottis,  after  look- 
ing at  the  picture  of  their  own  cords  and  the  cords 
of  others  in  more  or  less  advanced  stages  of  singers' 
nodules,  appreciating  after  a  week  of  exercises  with 
the  proper  attack  that  it  was  a  new  method  of 
voice  production  they  needed  instead  of  drugs. 

"When  a  voice  is  getting  worn,  losing  its  carry- 
ing power  and  warmth  of  tone,  when  a  little  too 
much  effort  causes  hoarseness  and  vocal  fatigue, 
look  for  two  things — explosive  attack,  which  causes 
a  bulging  of  the  cords  and  the  nodules  of  attrition, 
or  breathiness  of  tone,  causing  an  elliptical  con- 
dition of  the  vocal  ligaments. 

The  laryngoscopic  mirror  will  in  every  case  con- 
„  firm  the  diagnosis,  and  we  will  generally  find  one 
of  the  above  pictures  presented. 

"We  can  in  no  fewer  words  illustrate  the  method 
of  relieving  this  condition  than  to  quote  from  a 


TONE  PLACING.  149 

monograph  read  by  the  author  before  the  State 
Music  Teachers'  Convention  in  Rochester  two 
years  ago,  which  will  review  somewhat  the  rules 
laid  down  in  the  chapter  on  respiration,  and  the 
proper  focus  of  tone. 

"  If  we  take  a  good-sized  laryngoscopic  mirror — 
No.  4,  for  example — and  ask  a  patient  to  sing  E  or 
Ah,  the  cords  come  into  view  for  two  reasons: 
First,  the  epiglottis  becomes  more  perpendicular, 
allowing  a  better  view  of  the  bands ;  and,  secondly, 
the  cords  themselves  are  on  a  more  elevated  plane, 
owing  to  a  slight  elevation  of  the  larynx  and  relax- 
ation of  the  intrinsic  tensors  of  the  cords.  In  this 
position  we  remark  that  the  free  borders  of  the 
cords  come  together  in  the  anterior  and  central  por- 
tions, and  we  are  able  to  study  the  initial  tone 
attack,  the  membrane  separating  as  the  tone  bursts 
through  the  closed  chink.  This  picture  may  be  said 
to  be  an  imitation  on  a  small  scale  of  the  so-called 
stroke  of  the  glottis.  In  this  method  of  producing 
a  tone,  the  initial  attack  being  upon  the  cords  them- 
selves, the  central  portions  of  the  cords  necessarily 
touch.  The  peculiar  muscular  equilibrium  which  is 
employed  in  this  mode  of  attack  invites  a  reflex 
elevation  of  the  soft  palate,  cutting  off  the  oral 
from  the  nasal  cavities.  As  we  look  at  this  picture 

our  minds  revert  to  the  singing  teacher  who  com- 
11 


150  VOICE  BUILDING. 

mands  her  pupils  to  keep  their  palates  up,  sing  in 
the  back  of  their  heads,  and  strike  the  glottis. 
Could  ever  villainy  be  more  compounded !  Let  us 
take  the  same  patient  and  require  him  to  sing  the 
same  note,  but  in  an  entirely  different  way.  We 
will  first  ask  him  to  expand  his  upper  chest,  not 
necessarily  by  respiration,  bat  by  elevation  of  the 
superior  ribs,  by  a  muscular  effort,  at  the  same  time 
slightly  drawing  in  the  abdominal  wall.  We  now 
introduce  the  smallest  mirror  and  ask  our  patient  to 
sing  A,  pronounced  as  in  law  or  maw.  With  this 
position  of  the  larynx  and  muscular  poise  we  ob- 
serve two  things :  First,  the  epiglottis  does  not 
assume  its  most  vertical  aspect,  not  inclining  as  near 
the  perpendicular,  and  the  soft  palate  and  uvula  do 
not  spring  upward  and  backward  to  make  the  parti- 
tion between  the  mouth  and  naso-pharynx.  Differ- 
ent in  every  respect  is  the  tone  produced  by  the 
cords  which  may  be  assumed  to  vibrate  longitudi- 
nally, but  never  touching  each  other  in  the  middle 
portion,  even  in  making  the  initial  attack.  The 
cords  appear  narrower,  tenser,  lower  in  the  voice 
tube,  equidistant  from  each  other,  more  homogene- 
ous, and  whiter  in  colour. 

"  These  two  pictures  should  be  well  considered, 
as  they  become  the  basis  of  criticism  in  distinguish- 
ing the  correct  and  eliminatiDg  incorrect  methods 


TONE   PLACING.  151 

on  the  one  hand  in  singers'  voices,  and  of  the  great- 
est assistance  to  the  laryngologist  in  correcting 
pathological  conditions,  the  result  of  bad  training. 

"  Within  the  past  three  years  the  entire  theory 
of  musical  education  has  changed  in  France,  the  ex- 
planation of  this  change  being  that  there  is  at  pres- 
ent a  better  appreciation  of  the  influences  bearing 
upon  the  production  of  tone  and  a  better  under- 
standing of  the  physiology  of  the  larynx  by  reason 
of  the  advances  made  in  laryngoscopy. 

"Modern  teaching  tends  to  cultivate  tone  har- 
monies and  sympathy  in  the  voice  at  the  expense  of 
brilliancy  of  execution.  The  same  judgment  should 
be  exercised  in  the  training  of  an  individual  who 
proposes  to  make  singing  his  or  her  art  as  should  be 
employed  in  advising  the  painter  that  his  special 
forte  lies  in  landscapes,  rich  in  colour,  to  which  he 
may  give  expression  to  his  imaginative  genius,  rather 
than  the  sterner  facsimile  of  portraiture. 

"  How  many  singers  we  hear  whose  technicque 
and  brilliant  staccato  in  the  Bell  Song  of  Lakme 
calls  forth  our  admiration  and  amazement,  but  who 
are  absolutely  unable  to  put  any  sympathy  whatso- 
ever into  the  simplest  ballad.  We  should  study 
colour  harmonies  in  music  in  the  same  way  that 
they  must  be  studied  in  painting.  There  is  no  rule 
for  the  palpitating  sunlight  effects  and  prismatic 


152  VOICE  BUILDING. 

play  of  colours  in  the  school  of  Claude  Monet ;  it  is 
certainly  a  subtile  feeling  which  is  given  by  an  in- 
genious mingling  of  pure  spectrum  colours.  In  the 
human  voice  that  added  colouring  of  tone,  which 
appeals  to  the  heart  as  well  as  to  the  ear  of  the 
listener,  must  be  brought  about  by  the  employment 
of  those  harmonics,  which  are  added  to  the  original 
tone  by  intervibrations  within  the  accessory  cavities 
of  the  nasal  passages.  To  sing  dans  le  masque,  as 
the  French  say,  is  to  give  this  added  richness  to  the 
initial  tone ;  but  to  sing  in  this  manner  requires  the 
soft  palate  and  uvula  to  be  lowered  in  the  produc- 
tion of  tone.  Likewise,  to  make  the  purest  initial 
tone  from  the  cords  we  must  get  the  utmost  possible 
tension.  Several  elements  enter  into  the  question 
of  the  greatest  possible  tension,  one  of  the  most  im- 
portant of  which  is  that  the  trachea  be  drawn 
down  to  assume  the  position  that  it  takes  when  the 
apices  of  the  lungs  are  filled  to  their  greatest  extent 
with  air.  One  of  the  greatest  singers  that  the 
world  has  ever  known  told  me  that  the  reason  he 
adopted  a  fixed  high  chest  was  that  he  had  found, 
after  an  operation  performed  on  one  of  his  cords, 
that  the  only  way  in  which  he  could  be  at  all  sure 
of  his  voice  while  singing  was  in  the  maintenance 
of  the  so-called  high-chest  respiration.  This  is 
easily  explained  by  the  fact  that  in  this  position— 


TONE  PLACING.  153 

the  upper  ribs  remaining  fixed — the  apices  of  the 
lungs,  always  remaining  in  contact  with  the  thoracic 
wall,  are  expanded  to  their  fullest  extent,  the  cords 
reflexively  tending  to  keep  in  their  state  of  greatest 
possible  tension.  In  this  position  the  breathing 
becomes  entirely  inferior  costal  and  diaphragmatic. 
The  position  of  the  thoracic  cavity,  as  indicated 
above,  permits  the  lungs  to  expand  to  their  fullest 
extent,  thus  adding  a  secondary  resonance  to  the 
voice  from  below — a  sort  of  complementary  timbre 
— the  fixed  upper  thorax  allowing  of  the  least  pos- 
sible change  of  colour  during  tone  production. 

"It  is  this  combination  of  facial  and  thoracic 
tone  fortification  which  gives  the  enormous  carry- 
ing power  to  tones  produced  by  this  method.  For 
a  number  of  years,  before  I  made  a  special  study 
and  estimated  the  great  significance  of  these  factors 
in  singing,  I  deluged  the  throats  of  singers  with 
sedative  and  astringent  sprays  when  their  cords  ap- 
peared congested  and  swollen,  ofttimes  presenting 
nodules  in  their  centre  which  I  had  never  previously 
recognised  as  being  due  entirely  to  singing  with  an 
improperly  poised  larynx." 

Let  us  imagine  we  have  a  voice  presented,  suf- 
fering from  either  of  the  above-mentioned  condi- 
tions. Since  we  have  found  Ma  or  Maw  to  be  the 
combination  of  most  anterior  origin,  we  will  ask  our 


154:  VOICE  BUILDING. 

pupil  to  pose  a  tone  as  follows.     (If  a  soprano,  take 
c",  or  a  note  thereabouts,  for  example.) 

1.  Hum  a  tone  with  the  mouth  closed,  preceded 
by  a  slight  puff  of  air  through  the  nose,  as  one 
would  imitate  the  hum  of  a  bee. 

2.  After  making  this  tone  as  pure  and  musical 
as  possible  (by  musical  is  meant  resonant  or  full  of 
overtones),  fix  the  mind  upon  the  word  Maw  and 
mentally  bring  forward  the  tone,  almost  saying  it, 
until  we  feel  conscious  of  the  vibration  upon  the 
lips ;  at  the  same  time  the  position  of  the  initial  tone 
should  not  be  changed.     To  ascertain  if  the  mouth 
focus  is  correct,  simply  pluck  the  lower  lip  with  the 
finger  as  you  would  pluck  the  string  of  a  musical  in- 
strument, and  if  the  mouth  tone  is  sufficiently  far  for- 
ward an  explosive  sound  like  Mum  will  answer.     If 
this  tone  is  not  of  almost  equal  purity  to  the  head 
tone,  which  all  the  time  must  be  sounding,  the  equi- 
librium of  tone — i.  e.,  the  division  into  the  mouth 
and  facial — is  not  satisfied,  and  we  must  experi- 
ment until  we  get  the  mouth  tone  as  pure  as  the 
facial. 

3.  Having  gotten  the  purest  tone  possible,  let  us 
now  direct  the  pupil  to  drop  the  lower  jaw  and 
open  the  mouth  by  simply  allowing  the  weight  of 
the  jaw  to  accomplish   this  without  the   slightest 
muscular  effort.     Our  mental  Maw  now  breaks  on 


TONE  PLACING.  155 

the  lips  into  tone,  and  we  have  the  pure  vowel  with 
its  prefixed  consonant  without  being  aware  of  the 
effort  that  has  produced  it — it  conies  so  spontane- 
ously and  beautifully,  and  seems  to  originate  on  the 
lips.  The  mouth  is  now  closed,  and  if  we  have  not 
interfered  with  our  focus  of  attack  we  hear  the 
initial  Hum  still  vibrating  pure  and  beautiful  in  the 
facial  resonators. 

4.  After  this  exercise  with  the  correct  focus  of 
tone  has  become  thoroughly  familiar,  the  next  step 
is  to  take  a  phrase  and  sing  the  notes  with  Maw 
or  Ma  instead  of  the  words  of  the  song,  always 
commencing  in  that  portion  of  the  scale  which  will 
allow  of  the  easiest  initial  tone  for  the  focus. 

These  are  the  exercises  so  much  appreciated  by 
singers  that  we  employ  for  the  reduction  of  nodules 
of  attrition  on  the  cords,  which  exercises,  strange  to 
say,  have  been  the  object  of  ridicule  by  certain 
kryngologists  who  have  undoubtedly  not  given  the 
subject  of  physics  a  proper  amount  of  consideration. 
We  are  indebted  to  the  stroboscope  for  the  scien- 
tific vindication  of  our  theory  and  treatment  of 
singers'  nodules.  The  word  Ma  should  be  sung  in 
this  manner  for  several  minutes  at  a  time  and  every 
hour  in  the  day.  It  makes  no  difference  on  what 
note  it  is  sung,  provided  the  resonators  add  new 
overtones  to  the  voice  and  thus  produce  a  rear- 


156  VOICE  BUILDING. 

rangement  of  the  vocal  cords  in  their  manner  of 
vibration.  These  exercises  must  be  accompanied 
by  the  high-chest  method  of  breathing,  as  described 
in  the  chapter  on  respiration.  As  we  have  so  often 
stated,  an  additional  resonance  and  consequent  aug- 
mentation of  overtones  is  derived  from  this  source, 
and  constructively  assists  in  the  rearrangement  of 
the  manner  of  vibration  of  the  cords,  at  the  same 
time  increasing  their  tension.  After  all,  the  correct 
focus  of  attack  or  the  proper  placing  of  tone  is  the 
most  important  thing  to  be  studied  in  singing. 
Without  it  our  voices  do  not  possess  charm  and  the 
vitality  is  jeopardized.  By  the  steady  employment 
of  them  for  an  hour  the  above  exercises  have  pulled 
many  a  weary  voice  together,  and  enabled  many  a 
distracted  artist  to  go  with  confidence  upon  the 
stage  or  platform.  Their  daily  use  gives  new  over- 
tones to  the  voice,  prevents  attrition  and  allied 
affections  of  the  cords,  and  enables  the  singer  to 
use  his  voice  through  many  a  cold  with  comparative 
immunity.  We  have  given  but  two  examples  of 
affections  encountered  in  singers,  but  these  two  will 
cover  almost  every  condition  brought  about  by  bad 
methods.  In  the  treatment  of  relaxed  cords  and  of 
congested  cords  a  good  piece  of  advice  to  give  a 
pupil  is  this  :  Until  you  can  do  a  pure  Hum  with 
the  mouth  closed  and  without  effort,  do  not  attempt 


TONE  PLACING.  157 

to  talk,  simply  whisper  and  make  the  attack  upon 
the  lips  even  while  doing  this.  By  observing  this 
rule  many  a  prolonged  hoarseness  may  be  pre- 
vented. In  either  of  the  above  conditions  the  Maw 
exercises  may  be  commenced  with  benefit  to  the 
cords  as  soon  as  the  head  Hum  is  easily  produced. 
The  above  terms  are  not  expressed  in  elegant  Eng- 
lish, but  we  have  attempted  to  make  the  explana- 
tion in  the  simplest  possible  manner  that  our  mean- 
ing be  not  misunderstood.  The  pupil  who  has  been 
struggling  with  various  teachers  for  years  to  edu- 
cate his  or  her  voice  will  ofttimes  produce  a  tone  so 
satisfactory  to  himself  by  this  simple  means,  after  a 
few  minutes'  work,  that  he  will  immediately  assert 
that  his  entire  study  has  been  in  vain.  Not  so ;  for 
even  if  the  tone  has  not  been  previously  properly 
placed  and  overtones  have  been  disregarded,  he  has 
learned  his  music  and  at  the  same  time  has  strength- 
ened the  intrinsic  muscles  of  his  larynx.  A  word  as 
to  the  male  voice,  for  the  above  relates  more  par- 
ticularly to  the  female  registers.  Whether  a  patho- 
logical condition  has  commenced  on  the  cords  or  a 
voice  has  simply  become  throaty,  with  stiff  base  of 
tongue  and  raised  uvula,  the  same  principles  may  be 
demonstrated.  Our  treatment  in  either  case  will  be 
identical.  We  ask  the  pupil  to  commence  with  the 
note  <?,  for  example,  in  the  bass  clef,  and  hum 


158  VOICE   BUILDING. 

through  the  nose,  pinching  it  together  with  the 
thumb  and  forefinger  and  letting  go  suddenly  to 
make  an  explosive  sound  on  the  attack.  See  that 
the  soft  palate  is  entirely  relaxed,  and  that  it  keeps 
so  absolutely  during  the  arpeggio  which  we  sing, 
commencing  with  Maw,  and  Awe,  Awe,  Awe,  with 
the  mouth  open  to  observe  the  soft  palate  and  base 
of  tongue.  Carry  these  arpeggios  up  until  the  voice 
reaches  its  limit.  The  soft  palate  should  not  be  felt 
in  the  slightest  degree,  and  every  muscle  of  the 
pharynx  must  be  in  relaxation.  These  arpeggios 
are  now  to  be  sung  with  a  sound  as  if  made  by  the 
word  Hawng,  and  Awng,  Awng,  Awng,  and  the 
French  sound  of  En.  After  any  of  these  notes  is 
sung,  if  the  sound  be  prolonged  and  the  mouth 
closed,  the  tone  must  continue  in  the  facial  resona- 
tors, or  dans  le  masque,  as  the  French  say.  The 
question  asked  by  the  pupil  will  be,  Will  not  this 
practice  make  the  tones  nasal  ?  No,  it  will  only  en- 
rich them  and  take  the  attack  from  the  cords,  for  the 
moment  you  add  words  and  consonants  the  nasal 
quality  we  have  heard  in  the  exercises  disappears. 
These  exercises  are  identical  in  their  effect  with  the 
first  examples  we  gave  for  the  female  voice.  The 
soprano,  however,  would  commence  at  c"  in  the 
treble  clef  or  thereabouts  on  whatever  note  was 
found  to  be  easiest  to  focus  exactly  in  this  method. 


TONE  PLACING.  159 

Tradition  says  that  Madame  Rudersdorf  taught 
exercises  similar  to  these.  If  she  did  she  never 
mined  a  voice,  a  fact  which  many  teachers  can  not 
boast.  If  the  beginner  were  taught  first  the  proper 
respiration,  and  then  had  the  separate  notes  of  his 
voice  so  built  up  that  he  might  obtain  the  best  qual- 
ity of  overtones,  and  afterward  was  educated  to  sing 
with  absolute  relaxation  of  the  extrinsic  muscles  and 
freedom  from  forcing,  we  might  expect  a  perfect 
voice.  The  shock,  or  coup  de  glotte,  is  death  to  the 
voice  ;  it  is  born  of  ignorance,  and  to  teach  or  allow 
its  continuance  is  a  crime.  We  have  no  words 
strong  enough  to  properly  condemn  it.  Having 
seen  the  dire  effects  upon  many  pupils  of  those  who 
advise  it,  are  we  not  justified  in  considering  its 
advocates  parties  to  either  gross  ignorance  or  atro- 
cious malpractice  ?  We  have  arrived  at  the  solution 
of  the  question  of  voice  placing  after  many  years  of 
study  assisted  by  some  very  celebrated  artists.  We 
have  attempted  to  explain  in  a  few  words,  and  without 
an  unnecessary  phrase,  the  results  we  have  attained. 
We  do  not  say  it  boastingly,  but  we  think  we  have 
found  the  truth,  at  any  rate  we  have  started  the 
investigation  of  many  teachers  in  the  right  direc- 
tion. By  the  methods  just  described,  which  appear 
so  simple,  to  some  almost  childish  at  first  glance,  we 
have  restored  seemingly  worn-out  voices  in  an 


160  VOICE  BUILDING. 

incredibly  short  space  of  time ;  we  have  rendered 
easy  what  seemed  to  many  a  thing  of  terror.  Our 
case  books  are  full  of  letters  of  unbounded  grati- 
tude from  sufferers,  but  our  means  have  been  so 
simple  that  we  almost  feel  that  an  apology  is  due  to 
the  great  musical  public  on  account  of  this  very  sim- 
plicity of  our  methods.  On  welcoming  my  dear 
friend  Jean  de  Reszke  to  my  house  after  his  fourth 
return  to  our  shores  I  said  to  him :  "  Jean,  have  you 
any  new  facts  for  my  poor  book  ?  Have  your 
studies  during  the  past  year  taught  you  anything 
which  may  be  of  use  to  me  ? "  "  Yes,"  he  re- 
sponded, "  I  find  that  the  great  question  of  the 
singer's  art  becomes  narrower  and  narrower  all 
the  time,  until  I  can  truly  say  that  the  great  ques- 
tion of  singing  becomes  a  question  of  the  nose — 
la  yrande  question  du  chant  dement  une  question 
du  nez" 

There  are  many  other  considerations  which  enter 
into  the  medical  treatment  of  singers,  which  are, 
however,  without  the  province  of  this  book,  such  as 
medication,  electricity,  hygiene,  gymnastics,  mas- 
sage, hydrotherapy,  diet,  etc.,  which  we  hope  to 
treat  of  at  another  time.  As  to  the  use  of  astrin- 
gents and  local  applications  to  the  larynx  of  singers, 
perhaps  the  least  said  the  better.  "We  find  the 
natural  secretions  quite  sufficient  to  lubricate  and 


TONE  PLACING.  161 

moisten  the  mucous  membrane  of  the  vocal  cords 
without  recourse  to  drugs,  provided,  however,  that 
the  nose  is  properly  performing  its  functions  of  fil- 
tering, warming,  and  moistening  the  inspired  air. 
So  here  also,  as  in  tone  production,  we  may  say  it 
becomes  a  question  of  the  nose. 

It  is  difficult  to  express  in  language  that  which 
is  very  easy  by  vocal  example.  Many  singers  have 
a  superbly  placed  high  register,  as  instanced  in  the 
singing  of  Tetrazzini,  but  when  they  sing  in  the 
middle  voice,  a  blatant  quality  is  introduced  which 
is  offensive  to  the  educated  American  ear.  Strange 
to  say  this  manner  of  singing  is  acceptable  in  Italy, 
and  the  vibrato  quality  which  frequently  accompa- 
nies it,  as  evidenced  in  the  singing  of  that  admirable 
artist  Signor  Stracciari,  is  considered  an  evidence  of 
temperament. 

The  difference  between  vibrato  and  tremolo  is, 
that  one  is  voluntary  and  produced  by  the  respira- 
tory act,  while  the  latter  is  caused  by  a  lack  of  tonic- 
ity  of  the  cords  and  their  mechanism.  The  vibrato 
is  popular  among  the  Latin  races,  while  the  Anglo- 
Saxons  will  not  tolerate  it.  N~o  great  singer  has 
ever  succeeded  in  securing  recognition  in  the  United 
States  as  of  the  first  rank  who  has  attempted  to 
secure  his  effects  with  a  vibrato  quality.  This  was 
clearly  evidenced  when  the  late  Signor  Tamagno 


162  VOICE  BUILDING. 

sang  in  New  York,  at  the  time  Jean  de  Reszke  was 
in  the  zenith  of  his  fame.  To  the  latter  we  owe 
much,  for  it  was  he  more  than  anyone  else  who  edu- 
cated the  people  of  this  country  to  a  proper  appre- 
ciation of  homogeneous  tone  coloring  in  the  phrase, 
or,  as  it  is  popularly  called,  singing  on  the  line. 
Plancon's  success  may  be  said  in  great  measure  to 
be  due  to  his  delightful  legato  work,  which  is  truly 
unsurpassed.  The  "  marriage  of  the  registers "  is 
an  all-important  work  in  teaching.  No  voice  can  be 
injured  by  carrying  the  head  quality  too  low,  but 
almost  every  voice  may  be  ruined  by  forcing  the 
lower  registers  into  the  upper.  The  stumbling  block 
of  barytones  is  d" ';  they  particularly  enjoy  roaring 
an  open  d",  and  it  generalty  is  the  cause  of  their 
ruin.  Perfection  in  singing  is  arrived  at  when  you 
are  able  to  sing  your  entire  compass  without  mak- 
ing your  audience  aware  that  there  is  any  change  in 
the  quality  of  the  registers.  There  are  no  better  ex- 
amples of  this  than  in  the  singing  of  one  of  our  own 
bassos,  Carl  Dufft,  of  the  barytone  De  Gogorza,  and 
the  tenor  R.  Martin. 

The  nearer  a  tone  may  be  sung  to  simulate  a 
closed  quality,  even  when  sung  with  the  chest  mech- 
anism, the  better  the  result.  Madame  Sembrich  is  a 
noteworthy  example  in  this  respect.  Anyone  who 
has  attended  one  of  her  wonderful  song  recitals  will 


TONE  PLACING.  163 

never  forget  the  remarkable  evenness  of  the  voice. 
Dalmores  has  acquired  this  addition  to  his  art  since 
his  arrival  in  America;  Sammarco  and  Renaud 
brought  it  with  them.  Gadski  has  introduced  it 
into  the  interpretation  of  German  opera,  and  bids 
fair,  such  has  been  her  vocal  progress,  to  rival  Lili 
Lehman.  The  acute  observer  recognizes  that  a  great 
influence  has  been  exerted  upon  the  voice  of  Caruso 
since  he  first  sang  in  this  country.  The  medium  reg- 
ister has  lost  its  allegiance  to  the  Italian  tendency,  a 
transition  which  Scotti's  voice  underwent  under  the 
De  Reszke  influence  years  ago.  Among  the  best  sing- 
ers, Farrar  and  Fremstad  have  made  most  marked 
progress  in  adding  the  nasal  overtones  to  their  up- 
per registers  during  the  past  two  years,  eliminating 
entirely  a  tendency  to  whiteness  in  the  higher  notes. 
Both  of  these  artists  illustrate  the  perfection  of  type 
in  vocal  poise,  and  will  undoubtedly  go  down  in  his- 
tory classed  with  Patti,  Sembrich,  and  Melba.  That 
there  has  been  a  great  change  in  the  last  decade  in 
the  appreciation  of  correct  method  in  singing  may 
bo  deduced  from  the  remembrance  of  the  three  dis- 
tinct registers  which  the  celebrated  contralto  Schal- 
chi  used  to  exhibit,  as  compared  to  the  delight- 
ful vocal  method  of  Homer  and  Schumann-Heink. 
Errani,  a  celebrated  teacher,  once  made  the  remark 
that  three  elements  were  necessary  to  make  a  great 


164  VOICE  BUILDING. 

singer,  first  the  style,  second  the  diction,  and  third 
the  voice.  That  style  and  phrasing  go  far  to  give 
delight  and  satisfaction  has  been  shown  by  our  be- 
loved Victor  Maurel,  and  nowhere  do  we  find  the 
three  elements  better  combined  than  in  the  singing 
of  Caruso,  Gilibert,  and  Renaud.  It  seems  perti- 
nent also  to  refer  to  the  exquisite  style  and  refine- 
ment of  technique  as  shown  by  Bonci,  and  also  to 
mention  the  singing  of  David  Bispham,  whose  won- 
derful diction  has  elevated  him  to  the  position  he 
has  attained.  While  by  no  means  can  we  include 
in  this  critical  sketch  the  names  of  many  of  our  best 
singers,  we  have  mentioned  a  few  who  to  our  mind 
illustrate  the  principles  mentioned  in  this  book. 


CHAPTER   VIII. 

VOICE   BUILDING. 

WE  have  discussed  the  physical  laws  by  which  a 
tone  is  produced,  and  find  that  the  inherent  quality 
of  a  tone  depends  upon  the  number  of  its  harmonics, 
upon  their  relative  position  and  strength,  and  also 
upon  the  way  in  which  the  tone  is  attacked  and 
released. 

In  the  voice  the  harmonics  of  the  tone  depend 
upon  the  resonating  cavities  of  the  larynx,  pharynx, 
nose,  and  mouth. 

A  good  quality  of  tone  can  be  attained  only  by  pe- 
culiar co-ordination  and  adjustment  of  these  cavities. 

To  secure  this  a  vowel  should  be  used  which  is 
most  conducive  to  this  condition,  one  which  con- 
tains the  richest  overtones,  and  at  the  same  time 
induces  increased  tension  of  the  vocal  cords. 

The  nature  of  the  initial  attack  is  altered  by 
every  consonant  employed.  Therefore  a  consonant 
should  be  prefixed  to  the  vowel  which  least  disturbs 
the  muscular  poise  and  insures  the  least  injurious 
attack. 

The  first  point  in  teaching  is  to  secure  the  relaxed 
condition  of  the  jaw,  tongue,  soft  palate,  and  lips. 

12  166 


166  VOICE  BUILDING. 

The  vowel  A,  as  in  awe,,  should  be  used,  as  in  this 
tone  the  harmonics  have  the  best  relative  position, 
and  the  most  agreeable  quality  is  produced. 

A  -labial  consonant,  in  preference  M,  should  pre- 
cede the  sound  of  the  vowel  to  bring  the  attack 
upon  the  lips.  Reasons  for  this  have  been  stated 
in  another  chapter. 

The  M  concentrates  the  energy  in  the  front  of 
the  face,  makes  the  attack  incisive,  and  prevents  the 
initial  attack  from  injuring  the  vocal  cords  by  origi- 
nating in  the  larynx.* 

The  breath  must  not  be  forced  in  the  attack,  but 
must  be  regulated  by  the  muscles  of  expiration,  and 
not  modified  by  muscular  contraction  above  the 
glottis.  The  tone  should  be  produced  without  any 
appreciable  respiratory  effort. 

The  tone  should  be  light  and  free,  and  directed 
toward  the  front  of  the  face  at  the  base  of  the  nos- 
trils. If  it  is  directed  only  toward  the  teeth  it  will 
lack  that  extra  re-enforcement  given  by  the  resona- 
tors of  the  nose. 

*  In  singing  Maw  throughout  the  arpeggios,  beginning  at 
middle  c"  on  the  staff,  we  perceive  that  at  e"  the  consonant  be- 
comes more  difficult  as  we  ascend,  and  at  /"  it  is  often  accom- 
panied by  a  change  in  color  of  the  tone.  It  is  consequently 
advisable  to  change  the  M  to  an  aspirate  and  above  e"  to  sing 
Ma,  ha,  ha,  ha,  in  completing  the  arpeggio.  Through  the 
break  in  the  voice  and  above,  Ha  should  be  used  with  the  H 
only  suggested,  not  sounded. 


VOICE  BUILDING.  167 

The  word  "direct"  is  used  unadvisedly.  All 
vocal  teaching  is  done  by  giving  mental  impressions. 
Never  give  the  pupil  the  idea  of  singing  or  pushing 
the  note  out  from  the  throat  toward  any  given 
place.  If  this  is  done  the  breath  will  be  forced 
out  violently,  and  muscles  involuntarily  contracted 
which  should  remain  at  rest. 

The  attack  of  the  tone  must  be  upon  the  lips, 
and  at  the  same  time  resound  in  the  facial  resona- 
tors. 

In  learning  to  make  a  free  attack  a  note  should 
be  taken  which  lies  in  the  middle  of  the  compass  of 
the  voice. 

The  pupil  should  attack  this  tone  several  times 
in  succession  with  the  combination  Maw. 


*    \  r  M*  f   r    * 

Maw  -  maw. 

The  tone  should  not  be  sustained  any  length  of  time, 
as  the  respiratory  muscles  are  not  yet  strong,  and 
the  effort  of  sustaining  will  fatigue  the  intrinsic 
muscles  of  the  larynx,  and  give  a  tremulous,  forced 
tone. 

The  attack  has  been  so  thoroughly  explained  in 
the  chapter  on  tone  placing  that  further  remarks  on 
the  subject  are  unnecessary. 


103  VOICE  BUILDING. 

The  first  exercises  for  attack  must  be  modified 
according  to  the  need  of  the  pupil.  In  some  cases, 
where  the  initial  tone  will  not  come  forward,  and  is 
restricted  by  contraction  of  the  soft  palate  and  mus- 
cles of  the  pharynx,  it  is  necessary  for  the  pupil  to 
practise  entirely  by  humming  until  the  tone  is  cor- 
rectly focused. 

Having  considered  the  poise  of  the  initial  tone 
we  may  now  discuss  the  subject  of  voice  compass. 


Vibrations 
per  Second 


FIG.  43.— The  compass  of  the  human  voice. 

Three  distinct  qualities  of  tone  are  usually  found 
in  the  natural,  untrained  voice,  which  for  con- 
venience in  explaining  the  vocal  scale  will  be  called 
chest,  medium,  and  head.  The  so-called  medium 
register  should  be  disregarded,  for  it  is  produced 
later  by  the  same  mechanism  as  the  head  register, 


VOICE  BUILDING.  109 

and  is  in  reality  the  head  tone  incomplete  from  the 
absence  of  its  proper  resonance  or  overtones,  the 
mouth  quality  being  present  at  the  expense  of  the 
facial.  The  chest  and  medium  qualities  are  usually 
very  distinct  in  the  untrained  voice.  The  covered 
head  tone  is  less  often  present,  the  thin,  white,  me- 
dium quality  being  carried  up  to  take  its  place.  Yet 
it  is  just  this  so-called  covered  head  timbre  which 
is  needed  to  give  to  the  tones  their  best  re-enforce- 
ment, and  with  which  the  voice  should  be  built  and 
strengthened. 

Of  highest  importance  is  the  ability  of  the 
teacher  to  differentiate  between  the  high,  shrill 
medium  and  the  true  head  tone;  also  to  distin- 
guish between  the  upper  chest  and  the  medium 
quality. 

The  lack  of  a  proper  acoustic  perception  on  the 
part  of  the  teacher  often  results  in  permitting  regis- 
ters to  be  forced  beyond  their  natural  limits,  thus 
injuring  and  overstraining  the  voice. 

The  existence  and  position  of  registers  in  the 
more  advanced  training  of  the  voice  should  not  be 
considered. 

If  each  register  is  considered  an  entity  and 
trained  in  its  own  special  quality,  the  difference 
between  the  registers  will  become  more  pronounced, 
and  the  act  of  passing  from  one  to  the  other  will 


170  VOICE  BUILDING. 

be  accompanied  by  more  effort.  If  the  voice  is 
trained  from  the  low  to  the  high  tones  there  is 
danger  of  overlapping  and  forcing  the  chest  regis- 
ter beyond  its  limit,  and  of  advancing  the  me- 
dium, sometimes  to  the  entire  exclusion  of  the 
head  quality.  Such  treatment  impairs  the  timbre 
and  is  the  cause  of  the  so-called  "  hole "  in  the 
voice. 

The  voice  should  be  trained  from  the  head 
register  down — that  is,  the  timbre  of  the  head  tone 
should  predominate  the  scale,  and  should  be 
brought  as  low  in  pitch  as  possible. 

In  a  woman's  voice  the  vocal  poise  of  this  reg- 
ister should  be  maintained  throughout  the  descend- 
ing scale,  until  the  later  development  of  the  proper 
chest  quality  makes  its  involuntary  impress  upon 
the  lower  tones.  The  vocal  attitude  in  the  produc- 
tion of  these  head  tones  reflexively  tenses  the  vocal 
cords. 

The  natural  head  tones  of  the  untrained  voice 
lie  ordinarily  just  above  the  middle  of  the  vocal 
scale ;  in  the  soprano  voice  c"  or  <f\  is  usually  the 
lowest ;  therefore  the  exercises  for  training  the 
voice  should  begin  on,  or  in  the  vicinity  of,  these 
notes  (c",  c"#),  for,  by  so  doing,  the  cords  become 
correctly  approximated  and  homogeneous,  and  al- 
low the  production  of  a  pure  tone,  which  can  be 


VOICE  BUILDING. 

carried  throughout  the  descending  scale.  Let 
teacher  then  test  the  voice  until  the  lowest  ton*, 
which  is  produced  by  the  mechanism  of  the  head 
register  is  discovered.  On  this  let  the  pupil  sing 
Maw,  as  described  in  a  previous  chapter,  until  the 
tension  is  sufficient  to  allow  the  production  of  a 
pure  resonant  tone,  without  breathiness  and  without 
contraction.  It  will  now  be  found  that  this  cov- 
ered, forward  vowel,  with  the  labial  consonant, 
will  help  the  pupil  place  the  tone  in  its  proper 
focus. 

When  the  pupil  has  learned  the  production  of 
this  tone,  and  one  or  two  higher  tones,  and  is  able 
to  recognise  the  timbre  of  a  pure  head  tone,  let 
an  easy  exercise  be  used  which,  in  practice,  will 
extend  this  quality  over  a  greater  range  of  the 
voice. 

A  simple  musical  figure  should  be  used,  not  ex- 
ceeding the  range  of  five  notes. 

MOORS. 


?r-    -* 


VOICE   BUILDING. 
KEY  OF  Ffl. 


.  .      a* 


MR* 


* 

b  ! 


Tlie  figure  and  rhythm  in  these  exercises  are  nec- 
essarily very  simple,  as  the  range  is  limited,  and  the 
attack  of  the  phrase  restricted  to  one  or  two  notes. 

A  short  descending  scale  may  follow,  one  of  an 
octave  or  a  ninth,  with  a  rhythm  which  will  not  allow 
the  accent  to  fall  upon  one  note  more  than  another. 


VOICE  BUILDING. 


173 


KEY   OF   C$. 


I  I 


j    j    J 


174:  VOICE  BUILDING. 

In  these  exercises  the  pupil,  by  passing  quickly 
from  the  high  to  the  low  tone  in  one  breath,  will 
be  able  to  compare  constantly  each  tone,  and  in  this 
way  will  learn  to  use  the  mechanism  of  the  head 
register  for  all  the  tones  in  the  descending  scale, 
and  thus  eliminate  the  so-called  medium  register  at 
once. 

The  scales  should  be  s\mg  piano  and  leggier  o, 
with  as  little  effort  as  possible.  There  should  be, 
as  yet,  no  attempt  to  produce  intensity  of  tone. 
The  great  masters  of  all  instruments  (with  the  ex- 
ception of  a  few  Germans)  now  insist  upon  the 
soft,  light  touch  to  begin  with.  This  touch  lies 
between  the  staccato  and  legato  /  it  is  free  and  deli- 
cate ;  it  lacks  strength  at  first,  but  is  resonant  and 
the  best  foundation  for  purity  and  richness  of  tone. 
So  with  the  voice,  the  first  exercises  should  be  gen- 
tle, and  should  be  sung  mezza-voce. 

No  loud,  sustained  tones,  crescendo-diminuendo, 
-=;  >~  should  be  used  by  beginners.  Such  exer- 
<^  cises  invariably  force  and  strain  the  voice. 

When  the  pupil,  by  practising  the  above  scales, 
has  learned  to  carry  the  timbre  of  the  head  register 
through  the  descending  scale  without  disruption  of 
breath,  and  has  learned  to  attack  c'  in  the  same 
manner  as  c",  then  a  series  of  ascending  scales  may 
be  used. 


VOICE  BUILDING. 


175 


All  exercises  may  be  transposed  to  suit  the  com 
pass  of  each  voice. 


•=»• 

— t- 


DA 


& 


fc 


When  the  voice  has  become  comparatively 
smooth  and  even  by  the  use  of  these  scales,  exer- 
cises should  be  practised  to  strengthen  particular 
sections.  The  short  five-note  figure  should  be  used, 
with  more  variety  in  the  musical  form,  and  with  the 
tempo  slightly  slower  than  in  the  scales. 


176 


VOICE  BUILDING. 


First  measurement  of  Intervals. 


ASHFOKTH. 


^-^-    -»- 


*s 


\)    i     r*  i     r  L4: 


Extension  of  Intervals. 


VOICE   BUILDING. 


Exercises  to  produce  flexibility  of  the  muscles 
of  the  cheeks,  lips,  tongue,  and  throat  may  now  be 
studied.  A  dental  consonant  should  be  used,  though 
the  vowel  may  be  changed  to  suit  the  condition  of 
the  voice.  The  attack  of  the  first  note  must  be  in- 
cisive, while  the  second  note  is  staccato  and  soft. 


legato. 


LAXKOW. 


Di          di  di  di  di.        Di. 


I  II 


PP 


PP 


-^-    — r 

^g^ 


178 


VOICE  BUILDING. 


LA.NKOW. 


do. 


do. 


do. 


legato. 


legato. 


P%&^^4J=J= 

i=ii—  j—  i  n  j  i  *  j  i  °  —  n 

3Z2    •*•   •*•   ^ 

Do 

Do                      

-&—.  =  1  

tr  &                  }  & 

IF                   1   ' 

^  1                  II 

Jf  ~4- 

—  P^  r^ 

«Q           JS^ 

—  1  R  —     R  —     R  —     R~ 

^  J  J   J  J^T  J     ^  J~ 

J 

Di        di 

di          di 

•    •   v       -^ 

di     di     di     di     di     di     di     di 

di! 

^     s 

i   3. 

—  T  *  — 

The  jaw,  soft  palate  and  tongue  must  be  relaxed.     The  tongue, 
especially,  must  be  loose  and  kept  in  the  front  of  the  mouth. 


^ 


J    -*ci 


Do do          do do  do do          do do 


m 


VOICE  BUILDING. 


179 

LANKOW. 


&= 

§  »j^^=^=j 

^ 

do      

1   j        I        1        j    -1 

t==x=^- 

[  rL  -T  Jr^ 

^ 

do    do     do    do    do    do    do.     Do     do     do     do     do     do     do    do. 
Do-a,  do-a,  do-a,do-a,do-a,do-a,do-a,do. 


y-g^ 


Do       do do        do do        do do, 


do        do do        do do        do do. 


The  consonant  must  be  more  accentuated  as  intensity  of  tone 
increases. 


180 


VOICE  BUILDING. 

SPEECH-EXERCISES. 


Exercises  for  enunciation  should  accompany  the  above  studies. 
These  quick  staccato  speech-exercises  make  the  tongue  and  lips 
supple  and  aid  greatly  in  learning  to  enunciate  clearly  and  dis- 
tinctly. At  first  they  may  be  practiced  in  a  whisper,  and  afterwards 
sung  mezza-voce. 


LANKOW. 


fa  do 


Do  re  do    do 


do  re  do   do 


do  re  do    do 


do  re  do    do 


•<s>- 

IP3T-'          —  1 

_  .  ?—*- 

t-j  —  _  — 

lg2 
I 

_J  5_JL_ 

k& 
^  

sol 


do 


la 


do 


do. 


All  the  exercises  to  be  modulated  chromatically,  according  to  the 
range  of  voice. 


VOICE  BUILDING.  181 

Exercise  for  learning  the  quick  breathing  in  "  demi-respiration." 
Breath  to  be  taken  after  the  staccato  note  and  on  the  sixteenth  rest 
only. 


-ffj 

r              j^^^S          H                               | 

p 

3 

Do                                do       do 

T 

do       do 

^*r 

| 

—  5?  •  X         j 

y2- 

* 

S  *j  *  1 

Ur                      1 

^-g^fs^  —  ^n 

do    do  . 

do    do 

do    do. 

I             + 

i 

If                          =J 

I1—                         II 

Now  may  follow  studies  for  a  more  complete 
development  of  the  entire  range  of  voice  and  in- 
tensity of  tone.  Long  sustained  scales,  which,  by 
their  character,  give  impetus  to  the  voice,  should  be 
practised  to  develop  the  upper  head  tones  and  to 
give  flexibility.  Arpeggios  and  exercises  for  sus- 
taining tones  should  be  used  as  the  voice  develops. 

The  upper  head  tones  should  be  treated  very 
delicately.  They  should  be  sung  mezza^voce  until 
the  voice  is  well  under  control,  and  at  first  should 
never  be  sustained.  Even  after  the  voice  has  been 
placed,  care  should  be  taken  to  avoid  fatigue  by 
practising  them  too  loud  or  sustaining  them  for  too 

long  a  time. 
13 


182  VOICE  BUILDING. 

EXERCISES  FOR  THE  LATER  DEVELOPEMENT  OF  THE  VOICE. 
Exercise  for  developement  of  upper  tones.  ASHFORTH. 


To  be  transposed  chromatically  according  to  range  of  voice. 


VOICE   BUILDING. 

Exercise  for  full  octave  attack. 


183 

ASHFORTH. 


-I  J  J  I 


a 


*=   =5=t: 


VOICE   BUILDING. 


=? 


Exercises  in  sustained  tones. 


ASHFOKTH. 


VOICE   BUILDING. 

Studies  in  Minor  Scales. 


185 

GABCIA. 


186 


VOICE  BUILDING. 


Studies  for  facilitating  correct  intonation. 


CJABCIA. 


VOICE  BUILDING. 

Exercises  for  correct  intonatic 


187 

HADAM  EAMES. 


Trou,tru,treu,tre,   tri.  tro.  tr 


Examples  of  Randegger  Scales. 


188 


VOICE  BUILDING. 


Exercises  in  sustained  tones. 
No.  1. 


No.  3. 


VICTOR  HAKHIS. 


No.  5. 


No.  6. 


*^            ah  ... 

^s. 

-o  —  g  —  »^  —  ^^^«^-  -«  —  ^^u 

ah                 .  >-.  . 

M-aw     

M-aw. 

ow. 

J  i  J  J 

IF-*  *  r  *  *=* 

jp  [1  

—  i  —  F  ;   r  i  —  H 

NO.  r. 


No.  H. 


No.  1.  Sustained  Tone.  I  Xo.  5.  Diatonic  Scalf  to  the  Fifth, 
No.  2.  Susfcaiued  tone  and  Third.  X...  «.  In fervnl  of  the  Fourth. 

No.  3.  Sustained  tone,  Tliird  iiiid  Fifth.  No.  1.   Interv:.!  of  the  Sixth. 

No.  4.  Sustained  ton«..TIiir<l  F-'ftli  and  Octavo.  \  Xo.  8,  lutewul  of  Hit:  (K-tave. 


VOICE   BUILDING. 


1S9 


SCALE    EXERCISES. 

Combination  of  Sustained  Tones  and  Diatonic  Scale. 
No.  O.  No.  1O.  VICTOR  HABEIB. 


No.  13. 


No.  11. 


ah 

ah 

M-aw 

M-aw  . 

ow 

ow 

1  if  1 

hfc           L^ 

No.  13. 


No.  14,. 


S^-^r^ 

ah 

ah.' 

M-aw  
ow  

M-aw 

ow  

•i   _•!    j.  u  V  j.  j 

*     r     a   Ih-f-^^" 

1  —  *-\  —  i  —  r—  ,*  —  P  —  i     "  !  —  r~r 

No.    9.    Scale  of  the  Octave. 
No.  10.    Scale  of  the  Ninth. 
No.  11  .    Scale  of  the  Eleventh. 
No.  12.    Arpeggio  of  the  Twelfth.    ~ 

r  r    r    i 

No.  13.    Tenth. 
No.  14.    Twelfth. 
No.  15.     Octave. 
No.  16.     Tenth.    " 

190 


VOICE   BUILDING. 
IVo.  16. 


Examples  of  Marchesi  Scales. 


-grr 


1=  =3 


m 


VOICE   BUILDING. 


191 


II 

t) 


192 


VOICE  BUILDING. 


m 


•L-U-M^— T-0U— 0J — ri£-H — H  — * ** — 

=5fetM5^1gv-5k£Fj 


4 ,-4— „— I 


VOICE  BUILDING.  193 

THE  STACCATO. 

Franz  X.  Arens,  who  has  attained  a  wide  repu- 
tation as  a  teacher  of  singing,  begins  coloratnre  work 
with  exercises  as  follows: 

Semi-staccato. — The  student  should  repeat  Ah, 
imitating  the  sound  a  child  makes  when  he  taps  his 
chest  while  he  is  holding  a  tone,  or,  the  expulsions 
of  tone  which  occur  as  one's  heels  touch  the  ground 
running  down  hill.  The  pupil  may  attain  this  re- 
sult in  the  studio  by  raising  the  body  on  the  toes 
and  coming  down  on  the  heels,  or  by  striking  the 
floating  ribs  while  singing.  At  each  jar  against  the 
diaphragm  a  bubbling  tone  will  be  produced.  The 
pupil  with  these  experiments  in  mind  should  prac- 
tice tone  impulses  which  originate  in  the  lower 
respiratory  apparatus,  and  note  the  difference  be- 
tween these  and  the  laughing-tone  exercises,  which 
require  an  aspirate  before  each  note,  as  in  singing 
Ha,  Ha,  which  may  be  said  to  have  a  laryngeal 
origin. 

Pure  Staccato  demands  that  the  tone  must  be 
stopped  entirely,  thus  causing  a  brief  cessation  of 
the  sound.  This  can  be  done  in  two  ways:  by  con- 
tracting the  throat  muscles,  or,  by  sending  the  afore- 
mentioned bubbling  tone  through  the  nose  with  a 
respiratory  impulse.  The  latter  only  is  correct. 


194  VOICE  BUILDING. 

Great  emphasis  must  always  be  laid  on  tone-place- 
ment. It  is  well  to  begin  slowly,  to  give  the  pupil 
time  to  think  that  the  next  tone  is  to  be  sent  into 
the  nose,  thus  avoiding  the  hard,  strident  stroke 
of  the  glottis  staccato  one  so  often  hears.  If  done 
correctly,  a  slight  fluttering  motion  can  be  felt  im- 
mediately above  the  belt.  The  Roentgen  ray  shows 
that  in  this  manner  of  singing  staccato  passages,  the 
diaphragm  comes  up  in  clearly  defined  movements 
for  each  tone,  while  in  legato  singing,  the  diaphragm 
comes  up  steadily  and  regularly. 

To  acquire  this  method,  constant  development  of 
the  breathing  apparatus  by  the  exercises  described 
on  page  212  are  necessary,  in  order  to  insure  the 
flexibility  and  strength  of  all  muscles  concerned, 
particularly  those  of  the  ribs  and  abdomen. 


Application  to  Colorature. 

1.  Inaudible. — Blow  out  puffs  of  air,  first  on 
Who  with  funnel-shaped  lips,  second  on  Ha;  third., 
inhale  and  exhale,  as  a  dog  pants;  rapidly,  then 
slower  and  deeper.  After  deepest  inspiration  blow 
out  air  against  the  hand  in  puffs,  with  funnel  lips; 
fourth,  open  the  mouth  as  for  Ah  and  emit  breath 
by  puffs,  mentally  directing  the  same  into  the  nasal 
cavities. 


VOICE  BUILDING. 


195 


2.  Audible. — When  the  respiratory  puffs  have 
been  learned,  apply  the  same  placement  to  tones, 
with  absolutely  relaxed  throat;  the  result  will  be 
the  so-called  semi-staccato.  This  differs  from  the 
ordinary  staccato  in  that  there  is  not  an  absolute 
cessation  of  tone  between  the  puffs. 

Exercises  for  Acquisition  of  Semi-staccato. 

Imagine  a  soft  tone  throughout,  with  a  regularly 
recurring  emphasis  (accent) ;  hence  the  sign  > 
stands  for  both  accent  and  sudden  decrescendo. 


ARENS. 

/7N 

•- 

PP   JPP   JPP   fPP   JPP  JPP  fPP  JPP  JPP  etc. 
ha-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-  a -a- a- a -ah. 

II          i          I          ;         I       i       I     •  \       1^       ^™j     '"^     "^         ^ 

PP~~JPP    JPP    JPP    fPP  etc. 

ha-   a    -    a    -    a    -    a    -    a  -  a  -  a  -  a  -  a  -  a-a- a- a-a  -  a-a- ah. 

PP       JPP  JPP   JPP  JPP  etc. 

ha     -     a   -   a   -   a   -   a    -a-a-a-a-   a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a- ah. 


Continue   this   up   and   down,   including   scales, 
arpeggios,  and  various  figures;  for  instance: 


196 


VOICE  BUILDING. 


etc. 


PP 
ha. 


etc. 


Staccato  Exercises. 
Precede  each  a  with  an  aspirated  (imaginary)  h. 

ABKNS. 


(h)  a,       (h)  a,       (h)  a  -  a  -  a  -  a    -    a  -  a  -  a  -  a   -   a  -  a  -  a  -  a   -    a. 

Apply  this  to  2,  3,  4,  5,  6,  and  8  tones  and  arpeg- 
gios. 

Sometimes  it  is  well  to  sing  arpeggios  legato  up- 
ward and  staccato  downward. 


'At  first  only  half  as  fast  as  downward. 
Later,  equally  fast  up  and  down. 

Semi-staccato.  staccato. 


a)  Humming  with  open  lips. 

b)  ha  -  a  -  a  -  a    -    a  -  a  -  ah,  ha,    ft,    a,    a,      a,    a,     ah. 


VOICE  BUILDING.  197 

Semi-staccato  up.  Staccato  down. 


ha     -    a  -  a  -  a  -  a  -  a  -  a  -  a     -     a,    a,     a,     a,     a,     a,    ah. 
Ditto.       >  > 

>'^T '' j_-=i-,'    '  i  -*•        ^^nJ       -I      i      I       =z= 


IHtto. 


Diito. 


Lastly:  Staccato  up  and  down,  both,  scales  and 
arpeggios. 

Throughout  the  above  exercises,  as  indicated  else- 
where, the  apparatus  should  perform  these  feats  au- 
tomatically, easily,  spontaneously,  always  provided  that 
conditions  are  perfect. 

Combination  of  Staccato  and  Legato. 

Some  of  the   finest  and  most  effective  musical 

phrases,  whether  vocal  or  instrumental,  are  the  re- 
14 


198 


VOICE  BUILDING. 


suit  of  judicious  intermixing  of  legato.,  semi-stac- 
cato, and  staccato  elements  in  one  and  the  same 
phrase.  Thus,  at  the  end  of  the  Innammatus  Aria 
(Rossini's  "  Stabat  Mater  ")  we  have  a  combination 
of  legato  and  semi-staccato: 


VERDI. 


Con-fo  -  ve    - 


ti '-   a. 


Again,  in  Mozart's  beautiful  Eondo  "  Non  mi 
dir"  (Don  Giovanni)  we  have  a  combination  of 
legato,  semi-staccato,  and  pure  staccato: 


MOZAKT. 


etc. 


Still   another   favorite  combination   is   found   in 
the  same  aria  three  measures  earlier: 


MOZART. 


etc. 


VOICE  BUILDING.  199 

i.  e,,  short  legato  phrases  of  2,  3,  or  4  tones  ending 
on  a  staccato  tone.  Between  these  staccato  tones  the 
breathing  apparatus  suspends  operations.  This  tem- 
porary suspension  holds  good,  even  where  there  is 
an  actual  rest,  as  for  instance  in  Verdi's  Bolero, 
Merce  dilette  amiche  (I  Vespri  Sicilian!). 


VERDI. 

— -^ 

I?E    etc. 


ah! 


While  a  thoroughly  developed  breathing  appa- 
ratus will  attend  to  these  and  similar  "  feats  "  au- 
tomatically, always  assuming  a  free  throat  and  cor- 
rect tone-placement,  it  is  well  to  prepare  the  pupil's 
mind  for  these  phrases  by  simple  exercises  such  as 
these : 


COMBINED   LEGATO,  SEMI-STACCATO,  AND   PURE  STACCATO. 

ARKNS. 


Hah!  etc. 

-ajflf                1                 1 

| 
-Jf  IE  

!                  | 
-X  *  X  ft  -1 

$p  —  ^    *  —  ^  —  —  g  — 

fr^-ff  *  n  —  i  ;=  cs  

± 

2  —  s  —  5  —  £  —  1 

i            | 

I  I 

*    Ped.      #    etc. 


200 


m 


VOICE  BUILDING. 


rit. 


* 


a  tempo. 


-W  —  i  —  ^g   »  r  —  w    fc*  i    i 

P=-^*!  F-^  'U>^|    '  fj 

^-^ 

I 

-d  3  ! 

a  tempo. 

j 

1  

\  s-        J 

J        J 

1  1  H 

*£  t    *i            %  —            * 

-—m—    =£t= 

Legato,  semi-staccato,   and  staccato  are  indicated 
by  the   following  signs:   Legato  s — N,   semi-staccato 

x""**>  ,  pure  staccato 

>  >  >      * 

Swell  Notes — Crescendo  and  Decrescendo. 

(Messa  di  Voce.) 

This  should  be  done  absolutely  by  the  breathing 
apparatus.  Strictly  speaking,  it  is  wrong  to  open 
the  mouth  wider  as  the  volume  increases,  or  to  close 
it  as  the  volume  decreases;  for  the  crescendo  or 
decrescendo  which  is  gotten  in  this  manner  is  illegiti- 
mate, not  having  its  source  in  the  breathing  appa- 


VOICE  BUILDING.  201 

ratus.  Opening  the  mouth  after  these  exercises  have 
been  acquired  may  be  added  for  dramatic  effect. 

This  naturally  leads  us  to  consider  pianissimo 
and  fortissimo  singing.  Here,  again,  it  is  the  abso- 
lute control  of  the  diaphragm  and  intercostals  which 
renders  the  softest  tone  easy  and  efficient. 

//  we  imagine  the  degree  of  strength  we  wish, 
the  well-trained  breathing  apparatus  will  furnish 
this  degree  of  strength  from  the  softest  pianissimo 
to  the  loudest  fortissimo  without  assistance,  other 
than  respiratory,  on  the  part  of  the  singer,  provided 
the  throat  is  free  and  tone-placement  is  perfect. 

Exercises  to  establish  the  correct  idea  of  fortis- 
simo and  pianissimo,  with  absolute  sameness  of  throat 
attitude  : 

(In  a  majority  of  cases  pupils  tighten  the  throat 
muscles,  and  consequently  destroy  the  respiratory 
equilibrium  when  singing  pianissimo.) 

ARENS. 

^!\ V f*\ V SS\ m  /T\  V  /7\  f  /7\ 


/  ha,  p  ha,  /  ha,  p  ha,  /  ha,  p  ha. 


/ha, 


202 


VOICE   BUILDING. 


/ha, p  ha, /ha, p  ha. 

etc.,  up  to  4,  5,  6,  8  tones  and  arpeggios. 

.  Echo.  ., 


/  Ship  a-hoy,   a-hoy,  pj3  Ship  a-hoy,    a-hoy./  Ship  a-boy., 
<^T~~  cud,  lib. 


a-hoy. 


Echo. 


Ship       a  -    hoy, ....  a    -  hoy . 


The  pupil  must  realize  that  the  breathing  appa- 
ratus alone  should  be  employed  to  produce  fortis- 
simo and  pianissimo  effects. 


Crescendo  and  Decrescendo  Exercises. 

Insist  upon  pupil's  mind  being  centered  on  the 
matter  of  increased  and  decreased  respiration.,  or  else 
he  will  gradually  tighten  the  intrinsic  muscles. 


ha,        ha. 


VOICE   BUILDING.  203 

Gradually  extend  this  to  pp.  and  ff. 
It  is  well  to  combine  " Messa  di  Voce"  exercise 
with  flexibility;  thus: 


This  is  conducive  to  greater  relaxation  of  the 
throat  muscles. 

Exercise  for  Acquisition  of  Relaxed  Throat. 

Take  breath  pantingly;  gradually  slower  and 
deeper;  after  last  and  deepest  breath,  retain  same, 
counting  five.  To  avoid  tightening  throat  muscles, 
while  retaining  breath,  rotate  head  gently  all  the 
while,  "  realizing  how  very  loose  the  throat  feels." 
Establish  funnel-shaped  lips  by  simply  allowing 
cheek  muscles  to  push  lips  outward,  without  in  the 
least  contracting  the  lip  muscles  (puckering  lips). 
Then,  starting  with  a  slight  puff,  blow  out  gently 
against  palm  of  hand;  regularly,  inaudibly,  freely, 
allowing  the  sensation  of  the  blowing  against  the 
hand  to  regulate  such  blowing  out.  This  estab- 
lished, blow  out  audibly  on  some  convenient  tone, 


204 


VOICE  BUILDING. 


with  exactly  the  same  sensation  of  absolute  freedom 
of  throat  and  lip  muscles.  Retain  funnel  shape 
throughout;  often  move  head  gently. 

Let  last  tone  continue  until  breath  is  nearly  ex- 
hausted.    Don't  "hold"  it. 


AUENS. 
/7s 


Who, 


who,. 


who,. 


who, 


|    up  to  Bfy  then :    f  who, . 


who, 


who, who, . . 

/T\         V  s- 


who,. 


who,  ... 


who,. 


who, 


VOICE  BUILDING.  205 

EXERCISES    FOR    SINGING    UPWARD. 

ARENS. 


Who,  who,... who.. 

Melody :  S  tones. 


who,  . . 


who. 


who, 


who,, 


Jat 


who 

Melody :  U  tones. 


Arpeggio  No.  I.  (5  tones). 


pi 


who, 


who, ....  who, . 


Melody :  5  tones 


who, who, who,. 

Arpeggio  No.  IT.  (6  tones). 


who,. 


206 


VOICE  BUILDING. 


Melody :  6  tones. 


who,. 


8*--  -+•*- 
who, 


who 
Melody :   7  tones. 


who, 


who, 


who, who, 

Arpeggio :  8  tones. 


who,. 


who. 


who, 


These  arpeggios,  when  taken  faster,  may  be  re- 
peated twice,  three  times,  and  until  breath  is  not 
quite  exhausted.  Later  the  large  arpeggios  may  be 
added : 


These  exercises  are  given  in  their  order  on  who, 
i.  e.,  on  the  smallest  funnel-shaped  vowel ;  often  it 
becomes  advisable  to  change  vowels  to  ho,  ha,  lie,  etc., 
or  to  ^prefix  an  hm  as  in  hmoo,  hmo,  hmaw,  lima. 
A  compass  of  five  tones,  up  and  down,  affords  suf- 


VOICE  BUILDING.  207 

ficient  means  for  a  complete  development  of  all  vow- 
els. The  opening  between  the  teeth  is  slightly  in- 
creased in  going  higher  up. 

The  length  of  time  a  singer  should  practise  de- 
pends much  upon  the  character  and  condition  of 
the  voice.  Specific  rules  can  not  be  given.  Madam 
Melba,  when  asked  how  many  hours  of  practice  a 
day  she  would  advise  for  a  pupil,  said :  "  Xo  hours 
for  a  beginner,  but  minutes.  I  myself  never  practise 
more  than  an  hour  a  day,  and  usually  much  less." 

Forty  minutes  or  an  hour  of  actual  voice  prac- 
tice is  quite  sufficient  to  develop  most  voices.  This 
time  should  be  divided  into  periods  of  ten  or  fifteen 
minutes  each. 

Long  hours  of  practice  will  not  hasten  the  work 
of  voice  building.  They  only  fatigue  the  voice  and 
wear  it  out.  Regularity  in  practice  is  the  greatest 
aid  to  advancement. 

The  voice  develops  gradually,  and  nothing  will 
be  gained  in  trying  to  force  its  natural  growth  by 
continuous  hours  of  work. 

All  the  work  of  learning  and  memorizing  music 
should  be  mental.  When  the  mind  is  concen- 
trated upon  learning  the  melody,  rhythm,  and  con- 
struction of  a  composition  the  voice  should  not  be 
used. 

The  attention  can  not  be  given  successfully  to 


208  VOICE  BUILDING. 

the  learning  of  vocalizes,  songs,  arias,  etc.,  and  at 
the  same  time  to  the  proper  use  of  the  voice. 

There  should  be  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the 
music  before  any  attempt  is  made  to  sing  it. 

The  student,  in  usual  daily  practice,  should  not 
sing  in  full  voice.  The  secret  of  fresh  notes  is  the 
mezza-voce  practice.  The  high  tones  in  the  voice, 
especially,  should  be  practised  piano. 

Songs  should  be  sung  quietly,  and  more  atten- 
tion given  to  purely  musical  phrasing  than  dramatic 
expression. 

It  might  be  well  in  this  connection  again  to  re- 
fer to  the  subject  of  respiration,  treated  in  another 
chapter. 

As  proper  breathing  is  of  utmost  importance  in 
phrasing,  the  pupil  must  constantly  practise  advanc- 
ing the  chest  and  drawing  in  the  abdomen.  It 
should  be  impressed  upon  the  pupil  that  this  atti- 
tude must  be  assumed  before  a  full  inspiration  is 
taken. 

At  first  this  exercise  is  accomplished  with  diffi- 
culty, but  after  a  time  the  high  chest  may  be  main- 
tained indefinitely  without  the  slightest  fatigue.  The 
practice  of  high-chest  breathing  may  be  begun  in 
this  manner: 

1.  The  chest  must  be  raised,  but  not  the  shoul- 
ders. 


VOICE  BUILDING.  209 

2.  A  deep  inspiration  must  be  taken. 

3.  The  alphabet  should  be  said  slowly  and  dis- 
tinctly, with  the  hands  on  the  upper  chest,  until  the 
chest  is  felt  to  fall;  then  the  chest  must  be  elevated 
again  entirely  by  the  muscles,  not  breathing  until  it 
is  raised  and  fixed.     At  first  only  a  few  letters  can 
be  spoken  before  the  chest  is  felt  to  give  way,  but 
after  a  time  the  alphabet  can  be  repeated  several 
times  without  another  inspiration.     In  like  manner 
the  chest  should  be  raised  and  kept  in  that  position 
while  walking  a  block,  until,  finally,  this  mode  of 
breathing  with  a  fixed  high  chest  becomes  so  natural 
that  for  miles  one  can  continue  it  without  fatigue. 

It  must  not  be  understood  that  this  method  of 
respiration  is  a  sine  qua  non  for  all  singers,  and 
that  it  must  be  used  upon  all  occasions;  but  we 
must  insist  that  these  exercises  develop  the  chest  in 
a  truly  wonderful  degree,  and  their  employment 
gives  to  the  voice  a  charm  and  quality  which  is  es- 
pecially necessary  in  preliminary  voice  building. 
Any  one  who  may  take  pains  to  observe  will  see  to 
what  an  extent  the  De  Reszkes,  Maurel,  and  Plan- 
c,on  make  use  of  this  method,  as  well  as  Nordica, 
Melba,  Eames,  Calve,  and  many  others.  Not  a  few 
of  our  male  singers  wear  an  abdominal  belt,  which 
they  strap  tightly  during  a  performance;  this  is  of 
particular  service  to  one  who  is  trying  to  cure  him- 


210  VOICE  BUILDING. 

self  of  the  bad  habit  of  so-called  abdominal  respira- 
tion. These  breathing  exercises  should  antedate 
vocal  training,  as  it  is  much  easier  to  acquire  a  good 
habit  than  rid  one's  self  of  a  bad  one.  Their  use 
should  also  be  accompanied  by  light  gymnastics, 
much  outdoor  exercise,  and,  above  all  things,  by 
plenty  of  bathing.  In  speaking  of  bathing,  it  is  of 
the  utmost  importance  that  the  skin  should  be  kept 
very  active,  and  this  is  best  accomplished  by  taking 
a  warm  bath  on  rising  in  the  morning,  and,  after  a 
thorough  scrubbing  of  the  skin,  one  should  dash 
cold  water  over  the  chest  and  neck  with  a  sponge, 
while  the  feet  remain  in  warm  water.  This  manner 
of  bathing  avoids  all  disagreeable  shock  and  imparts 
the  greatest  vigour  to  the  skin.  To  pour  a  pitcher 
of  cold  water  down  the  spinal  column  after  a  warm 
bath  is  of  great  value  where  an  additional  stimulus 
to  the  nervous  system  is  necessary. 

These  hygienic  suggestions,  as  well  as  the  im- 
portance of  the  above-mentioned  respiratory  exer- 
cises, should  not  be  undervalued,  as  the  bodily 
health  of  the  singer  is  a  great  element  of  success  in 
a  life  of  necessary  hardship  and  nervous  strain. 

As  this  book  does  not  pretend  to  discuss  any 
theory  of  advanced  musical  training,  but  only  to 
touch  upon  the  elements  of  tone  placing  and  the  ru- 
dimentary principles  of  voice  building,  the  later  de- 


VOICE   BUILDING.  211 

velopment  of  the  voice  must  be  accomplished  under 
the  guidance  of  a  teacher  who  will  give  attention  to 
technic,  phrasing,  style,  etc.  It  is  in  the  prelimi- 
nary work  that  many  voices  are  injured.  If,  how- 
ever, the  proper  attack  and  tone  focus  is  employed, 
it  will  be  found  difficult  to  do  but  temporary  injury 
to  a  voice,  even  by  overwork.  We  trust  that  a  care- 
ful study  of  the  simple  principles  laid  down  in  this 
little  volume  will  at  least  have  been  an  indication 
to  the  student  that  his  path  lies  in  the  right  direc- 
tion, or  otherwise. 

The  question  has  been  asked  so  many  times — 
Howr  can  one  describe  a  perfect  tone?  While  it  is  a 
question  of  ear  in  a  great  measure,  there  is  a  very 
simple  experiment  which  may  be  resorted  to,  which 
will  aid  greatly  in  educating  the  ear  to  a  proper 
appreciation  of  forward  production  and  good  place- 
ment. It  may  be  described  as  follows: 

1.  Separate  the  teeth  the  thickness  of  the  first 
finger  without  opening  the  lips. 

2.  Place  the  finger  between  the  lips  in  front  of 
the  teeth. 

3.  Make  a  tone  and  "  wabble  "  the  finger  up  and 
down    breaking   the    sound.      If    the   voice   is    well 
placed,  the  tone  will  be  interrupted  by  every  vibra- 
tion of  the  finger.     So,  in  every  tone  of  a  song,  the 
finger   may   be   used   between  the  lips   in  the  same 


212  VOICE  BUILDING. 

manner,  and,  if  the  tone  is  properly  placed,  the 
sound  will  be  broken;  while  if  sung  in  the  throat, 
without  employing  the  mouth  as  a  resonator,  there 
will  be  no  interruption  of  the  tone. 

EXERCISES  FOR  EXPANDING  THE  CHEST  AND 
INCREASING  EESPIRATORY  CAPACITY. 

Experiment  has  shown  that  deep  breathing  done 
at  regular  intervals  expands  the  chest  and  increases 
the  capacity  of  the  lungs.  Any  increase  of  lung 
capacity  is  of  benefit  to  voice  production.  The 
greater  the  respiratory  capacity  the  more  homogene- 
ous the  phrase.  Shallow  breathing  causes  a  weak 
and  jerky  alignment  with  unnecessary  inspiration 
during  singing.  A  reserve  supply  of  breath  gives 
the  auditor  a  reciprocal  feeling  of  confidence  and 
permits  the  enjoyment  of  the  performance  to  the 
utmost.  We  must  remember  that  our  attitude  in 
singing  becomes  the  unconscious  attitude  of  the  lis- 
tener. If  we  sing  "throaty/'  the  throats  of  the 
audience  reflect  the  strain  and  become  distinctly  un- 
comfortable; so  with  incomplete  and  too  frequent 
respiration,  the  auditors  become  unconsciously  rest- 
less, and  though  they  may  be  unable  to  explain  the 
reason,  the  singer  does  not  please  them.  • 

The  simulation  of  unconscious  effort  is  the  de- 
sideratum on  the  part  of  the  singer.  The  audience 


VOICE  BUILDINX*.  213 

pulsates  with  you,  if  you  appeal  to  its  emotions,  but 
anything  you  do  to  mar  the  sense  of  subjective  co- 
operation offends  the  ear  as  well  as  the  receptive 
sense,  and  the  result  is  the  failure  to  arouse  any 
enthusiasm  among  the  listeners.  The  following  sys- 
tem of  exercises  has  been  found  to  be  particularly 
beneficial  to  singers: 

Deep  Breathing  Exercises  with  Muscles  in  Tension. 

Attention:  Stand  erect  with  arms  hanging. 

EXERCISE  I: 

1.  Elevate  chest  by  muscles  alone;  2.  Take  a 
deep   inspiration;   3.  Say   the  alphabet  as 
far  or  as  many  times  as  you  can,  without 
lowering  the   chest;   4.  Expire;    5.  Lower 
the  chest  and  relax  as  in  Attention. 
This  exercise  may  be  repeated  until  the  alphabet 
can  be  said  several  times  on  one  expiration. 

EXERCISE  II: 

1.  Elevate  chest;  2.  Inspire;  3.  Extend 
arms,  thumbs  up;  4.  Tense  arm 
muscles,  cramping  fingers;  5.  Flex 
arms  at  elbows  until  fingers  touch 
chest — repeat  two  to  four  times;  6. 
Attention;  7.  Forced  expiration;  8. 

Lower  the  chest;  9.  Rest. 
16 


VOICE  BUILDING. 

EXERCISE  III: 

tSame  as  in  II,  except  thumbs  are  back,  then 
arm  is  flexed  upward,  as  in  Fig.   2,  con- 
tinuing,   the   fingers    are    brought    to    the 
if!*  I        shoulders.     Eepeat  two  to  four  times. 

EXERCISE  IV: 

Same  as  II,  except  arms  are  hanging  at  sides, 
thumbs  out,  and  the  arm  is  flexed,  bringing 
fingers  to  shoulders.  The  upper  arm  does 
not  change  its  position  in  these  exercises. 

EXERCISE  V: 

Attention,    same    as    in    all,    with    elevation    of 
chest  and  deep   inspiration,   then  tense  arm, 
-     leg,   and   body   muscles.     Thumbs   together 
,f^      in     front,     palms     toward     floor.     1.  Push 
J|  down  an  imaginary  resisting  body,  bending 

the    back    (Fig.    3);    2.  Little    fingers    to- 
gether, palms  up.     Lift  a  heavy  weight,  all 
muscles   in  tension,   until  erect,  then  repeat 
once,  then  Exercise  II,  6,  7,  8,  9,  as  before. 
The  latter  exercise  will  throw  the  strongest  indi- 
vidual into  a  profuse  perspiration  in  a  few  repeti- 
tions, and  on  account  of  its  severity,  it  should  not  be 
attempted  by  students  with  heart  complications. 


VOICE  BUILDING.  215 

EXERCISE  VI: 

Stand   at   bed   or  table,   resting   left  hand   on 
*  same;    Elevate    chest;    Inspire;    1.  Eaise 

L-  right  knee  to  level  of  hip  joint  (Fig.  4) ; 

L  2.  Extend  right   foot   as   far   forward   as 

7*/7  ^  possible;  3.  Carry  the  leg  backward  in 
extension,  the  body  bending  slightly  for- 
ward; 4.  Flex  leg  as  much  as  possible 
Y(Fig.  5) ;  5.  Bring  it  forward,  flexed  into 
first  position  (Fig.  4).  Repeat  with  both 
legs  several  times,  leg  muscles  always  in 
tension. 

EXERCISE  VII :  "  Little   Samuel." 

Hands  together  at  chest  as  in  prayer,  body  re- 
laxed, thumbs  touching.  1.  Shoot  arms  up- 
ward, thumbs  passing  nose;  separate  and  drop 
arms,  backs  of  hands  tending  to  come  to- 
gether at  back,  thumbs  always  backward. 
Come  back  to  first  position  through  the  same 
arc;  2.  Drop  the  hands,  thumbs  touching 
hips,  then  continuing  upward,  thumbs  always 
pointing  back,  to  a  position  as  at  start  in 
Exercise  III,  except  there  is  a  complete  rota- 
tion of  the  hand.  Eeturn  to  first  position 
through  the  same  arc  and  repeat  in  turn, 
increasing  the  rapidity.  This  exercise  is  done 


216  VOICE  BUILDING. 

in  relaxation.  It  is  the  best  body  gymnastic 
for  the  singer,  as  it  develops  the  chest  and 
back  muscles,  and  tends  to  produce  a  good 
carriage  of  the  body.  This  exercise  should 
always  conclude  the  tension  exercises.  The 
pupil,  in  cooling  off,  should  stand  erect  with 
the  shoulders  back.  The  simple  repetition  of 
these  exercises  once  or  twice  a  day  will  suffice 
to  keep  the  pupil  in  the  most  excellent  physi- 
cal condition. 


CHAPTEK  IX. 

VOICE   FIGURES. 

A  ROD,  fixed  at  one  end,  vibrating  either  as  a 
whole  or  divided  into  segments  and  producing  a 
musical  note,  may  be  beautifully  demonstrated  and 
its  sonorous  vibrations  made  visible  by  a  simple  and 
ingenious  optical  method  designed  by  Sir  Charles 
Wheatstone.  We  shall  presently  see  that  the  vibra- 
tions of  the  vocal  cords,  or  rather  the  tonefe  pro- 
duced by  the  cords,  may  be  also  pictured  for  our 
delight  and  edification.  Chladni  was  the  first  to 
render  sonorous  vibrations  visible.  If  fine  sand  is 
scattered  over  a  square  metallic  plate  and  the  mid- 
dle point  of  one  of  its  edges  is  damped  by  touching 
it  with  the  finger  nail,  and  a  bow  is  drawn  across 
the  edge  of  the  plate  near  one  of  its  corners,  the 
sand  is  tossed  away  from  certain  parts  of  the  sur- 
face and  collects  along  two  nodal  lines  which  divide 
the  large  square  into  four  smaller  ones,  as  in  Fig. 
44.  This  division  of  the  plate  corresponds  to  its 
lowest  tone.  'Scattering  sand  once  more  over  its 

217 


218 


VOICE   BUILDING. 


surface  and  damping  one  of  the  corners  of  the 
plate,  if  we  draw  a  bow  across  the  middle  of  one  of 
its  sides  the  sand  again  dances  over  its  surface,  and 
finally  arranges  itself  in  two  sharply  defined  ridges 
over  its  diagonals  (Fig.  45).  The  note  here  pro- 
duced is  the  fifth  above  the  last.  By  damping  it  in 
different  places  we  can  produce  a  series  of  notes, 
each  of  which  will  give  its  own  particular  picture, 


FIG.  44. 


FIG.  45. 


as  may  be  seen  from  the  beautiful  series  of  patterns 
shown  below  (Fig.  46).  If  the  shadow  of  a  vibrat- 
ing rod  is  thrown  upon  the  screen  and  it  is  damped 
at  the  point  a  (Fig.  47),  and  struck  sharply  between 
a  and  0,  the  rod  divides  into  two  vibrating  parts 
separated  by  a  node,  and  we  see  upon  the  screen  a 
shadowy  spindle  between  a  and  its  fixed  point  be- 
low, and  a  shadowy  fan  above  a  with  a  black  node 
between  them.  This  is  the  simplest  method  of 
making  visible  the  vibrations  of  such  a  rod.  To 
show  those  vibrations  of  this  rod  which  are  rapid 


FIG. 


220 


VOICE  BUILDING. 


enough  to  produce  a  musical  sound,  Sir  Charles 
Wheatstone  attached  a  glass  bead,  silvered  within, 
to  the  end  of  a  metal  rod,  and  by  allowing  the  light 
of  a  lamp  or  candle  to  fall 
upon  the  bead  a  small,  intensely 
illuminated  spot  is  obtaine.l. 
When  the  rod  vibrates,  this 
spot  describes  a  brilliant  line, 
which  shows  the  character  of 
the  vibration.  In  Wheatstone's 
instrument,  called  the  kaleido- 
phone,  the  vibrating  rods  are 
screwed  firmly  into  a  massive 
stand  and  a  condensed  light  is 
permitted  to  fall  upon  the  sil- 
vered bead,  a  spot  of  sunlike 
brilliancy  being  thus  obtained. 
Placing  a  lens  in  front  of  the 
bead  a  bright  image  of  the  spot 
is  thrown  upon  the  screen.  If 
the  rod  is  drawn  aside  and  suddenly  liberated,  the 
spot  describes  a  ribbon  of  light,  at  first  straight,  but 
speedily  opening  out  into  an  ellipse  which  passes 
into  a  circle,  and  this  back  again  to  a  second  ellipse, 
into  a  straight  line.  If  we  now  draw  a  violin  bow 
across  the  rod,  or,  in  other  words,  cause  it  to  vibrate 
in  segments,  a  musical  note  will  be  heard,  and  an 


FIG.  47. 


VOICE  FIGURES. 


221 


almost  infinite  variety  of  luminous  scrolls  can  be 
produced,  the  beauty  of  which  may  be  inferred 
from  the  subjoined  figures,  first  obtained  by  Wheat- 
stone  (Fig.  48). 


FIG.  48. 


VOICE    BUILDING. 


Sound  waves  in  a  bell,  as  well  as  in  a  rod  or 
a  vibrating  plate,  may  be  made  visible  ;  we  can  get 
in  beautiful  ripples  an  expression  of  its  sonorous 
tones.  If  a  bell  glass  is  filled  with  ether  or  with 
alcohol,  a  short  sweep  of  the  bow  over  the  edge  of 
the  glass  detaches  the  liquid  spherules  Avhicli,  when 
they  fall  back,  do  not  mix  with  the  liquid,  but  are 
driven  over  the  surface  on  wheels  of  vapour  to  the. 


FIG.  49. 


FIG.  50. 


nodal  lines.  We  are  indebted  to  M.  Melde  for  this 
beautful  experiment,  the  result  of  which  is  shown- 
in  Figs.  49  and  50,  and  shows  what  occurs  when 
the  surface  is  divided  into  four  or  six  vibrating 
parts.  Tyndall  says  in  this  connection  :  "  The  rip- 
ples of  the  tide  leave  their  impressions  upon  the 
sand  over  which  they  pass,  and  the  ripples  produced 
by  sonorous  vibration  have  been  proved  by  Faraday 
to  do  the  same.  Attaching  a  plate  of  glass  to  ;i 


VOICE    FIGURES. 


FIG  51. 


long  flexible  board  and 

pouring  a  thin  layer  of 

water  over  the  surface 

of  the  glass,  on  causing 

the  board  to  vibrate  its 

tremors  cause  the  water 

to  chase  into  a  beautiful 

mosaic  of  ripples."     A 

thin     stratum    of    sand 

strewed  upon  the  plate 

is  acted  upon  by  the  water  and  carved  into  pat- 
terns, of  which  Fig.  51  is  a  re- 
duced specimen. 

However  beautiful  and  inter- 
esting these  visible  results  of  so- 
norous vibrations,  they  do  not 
compare  in  beauty  and  delicacy 
to  the  pictures  which  may  be, 
under  certain  conditions,  pro- 
duced by  the  tones  of  the  human 
voice.  It  remained  for  Mrs. 
Watts-Hughes,  of  London,  to 
take  the  first  pictures,  if  we  may 
use  the  term,  of  the  tones  of  the 
human  voice.  The  voice  figures 
were  first  shown  in  London  in 

FIG.  52.— The  eido- 

phone.  18$5.  and  are  described  by  her 


224  VOICE  BUILDING. 

in  The  Century  Magazine  for  May,  1891.  They 
were  obtained  by  singing  into  an  instrument  called 
the  eidophone  (Fig.  52).  It  is  a  simple  tube  bent 
upward  at  one  end,  over  which  a  membrane  of  india 


FIG.  53. — Seaweed  or  landscape  form. 

rubber  is  stretched.  A  film  of  water  is  poured  over 
this,  and  on  it  is  smoothed  a  layer  of  very  light  pow- 
der, which  has  been  made  into  a  paste.  The  notes 


VOICE   FIGURES. 


22: 


are  siing  into  the  other  end  of  the  tube  and  the  paste 
on  the  membrane  forms  itself  into  a  variety  of  ex- 


FIG.  54. — Daisy  form. 

quisite  figures  corresponding  to  the  different  notes 
sung.  These  forms  may  be  taken  on  a  piece  of 
glass  as  well  as  on  the  membrane  by  letting  the 
glass  rest  lightly  over  it  as  the  notes  are  produced. 
Writing  of  Mrs.  Watts-Hughes's  voice  pictures  in 
the  London  Spectator  for  October  26,  1889,  Miss 
Isabelle  Barrington  speaks  of  a  visit  she  made  to 
Mrs.  Hughes's  Home  for  Poor  Little  Boys  at  Is- 
lington, and  she  says  :  "  Instead  of  blinds  or  cur- 
tains drawn  across  the  Ipwer  panes  of  the  windows, 
there  are  wonderful  designs  in  colour,  strange,  beau- 


226 


VOICE   BUILDING. 


tiful  things  suggesting  objects  in  Nature,  but  which 
are  certainly  neither  exact  repetitions  or  imitations 
of  anything  in  it.  Perfectly  drawn  designs  of  shell- 
like  forms,  of  trumpet  and  snake-like  designs, 
twisted  and  involved  in  complicated  curves,  im- 
pelled on  to  the  glass  seemingly  by  the  force  of  a 
power  like  that  which  impels  and  weaves  into  vary- 
ing shapes  the  steam  from  the  funnel  of  an  engine. 
Thus  pictured  on  the  glass  they  are  rendered  into 
the  most  elaborate  and  perfectly  drawn  perspective, 
each  curve  coloured  and  toned  with  gradations  as 


FIG.  55.—  Pansv  form. 


subtile  as  those  of  the  most  beautiful  shell  or  the 
most  delicate  petal  of  a  flower.  Strange  and  sug- 
gestive indeed  are  these  window  panes  which  the 


void-:  Fi<;rm-:s.  9L>7 

little  boys  at  Islington  have  to  look  through.  They 
see  weird  caverns  at  the  bottom  of  the  sea,  full  of 
beautiful  coloured  sea  anemones  and  mussel  shells, 


Fir,.  56. — Fern  form. 

headless  snakes,  entanglements  of  flower  and  leaf- 
like  forms,  all  seemingly  vital  with  the  same  laws 
of  growth  as  those  which  inspired  the  creation  of 
the  designs  in  Nature  which  they  suggest." 

The  daisylike  shapes  shown  in  Fig.  5±  were 
produced  by  very  low  notes,  some  of  them  by  an  A  in 
the  first  space  of  the  bass  clef,  sung  firmly  and 
sharply.  The  globules  of  paste  when  this  note  is 
struck  will  be  seen  leaping  and  spluttering  all  over 
the  membrane,  and  end  by  forming  in  a  heap  in  the 
centre  of  the  same.  The  character  of  the  note  is 


228  VOICE  BUILDING. 

then  altered,  but  not  the  pitch.  It  is  simply  sung 
much  more  gently.  From  the  heaps  in  the  centre 
the  paste  flies  out  in  starlike  shapes  to  unequal 
distances.  Sometimes  two  such  furtive  attempts 
will  be  made  to  form  a  definite  figure,  when  sud- 
denly a  perfect  and  symmetrical  row  of  petals  will 


FIG.  57. — Serpent  form. 

start  out  and  create  with  the  centre  heap  an  exquis- 
itely finished,  daisylike  form  (Fig.  54).  Sometimes 
even  three  rows  of  petals  will  be  the  answer  to  the 
note  sung,  whereas  at  others  one  row  will  be  im- 
perfect and  will  require  the  note  to  be  produced 
again  and  again  before  the  figure  will  become  per- 


VOICE  FIGURES.  220 

feet.  Mrs.  Hughes  says  that  under  certain  condi- 
tions other  varieties  of  figures  are  formed,  which 
she  describes  as  resembling  the  pansy  (Fig.  55),  the 
marigold,  the  chrysanthemum,  and  the  sunflower, 
and  she  goes  on  to  say  that  the  special  feature  of 
this  daisy  class  is  a  ring  or  rings  of  petals,  generally 
pretty  even  in  size,  surrounding  the  raised  centre. 
The  number  of  petals  may  be  from  six  to  thirty  or 
more,  the  number  increasing  with  every  rise  of  the 
pitch  of  the  note  sung.  They  usually  appear  as  a 
single  layer,  but  Mrs.  Hughes  has  noticed  two,  three, 
or  four  layers  of  petals  partly  overlapping  one  an- 
other, showing  the  same  difference  which  we  see 
between  our  double  and  treble  garden  flowers  and 
their  simple  wild  progenitors.  Other  forms  of  voice 
flowers  which  Mrs.  Hughes  describes  as  the  pansy 
class  included  forms  like  the  violet,  primrose,  and 
geranium.  The  great  care  and  delicacy  in  singing 
which  are  demanded  for  the  production  of  these 
floral  forms  will  afford  ample  training  for  any  vo- 
calist in  sustaining  notes  varying  from  the  softest 
pianissimo  to  a  very  loud  forte,  since  every  grade  of 
intensity  is  required  in  its  turn  in  order  to  evoke 
these  forms  in  their  various  sizes,  ranging  from  that 
of  a  pinhead  to  a  large-sized  daisy.  She  goes  on  to 
say  that  when  these  notes  have  been  sung  with  spe- 
cial force  she  has  observed  that  along  with  the  figure 

16 


230  VOICE  BUILDING. 

usually  appearing,  certain  additional  curves  and 
forms  present  themselves,  and  she  is  convinced  that 
these  latter  are  produced  by  overtones  which  are 


FIG.  58.— Cross-vibration  figure.  t 

usually  inaudible,  even  to  a  well-trained  ear.  Car- 
rying out  the  suggestion  given  us  by  the  way  these 
flowers  are  formed,  may  it  not  be  that  a  perfect  pic- 
iur-e — that  is,  a  flower  perfect  in  its  details — can 
only  be  produced  by  a  particular  note  perfectly 
sung  ?  Indeed  it  would  seem  that  the  infinite  deli- 
cacy, intricacies,  and  differences  of  the  human  voice 
may  find  their  counterpart  in  the  variations  of  these 
flowery  forms,  and  dramatic  expression  and  emotion 


VOICE  FIGURES.  231 

have  also  their  effect  in  varying  the  exquisite  tracery. 
In  singing  the  shell-  and  trumpet-like  figures  (Figs. 
57  and  58)  Mrs.  Hughes  sings  the  middle  notes  of 
her  voice  with  great  intensity.  In  these  forms,  how- 
ever, she  uses  a  paste  made  not  with  a  white  powder, 
but  with  Prussian  blue,  madder  lake,  or,  indeed,  any 
colour  which  she  finds  will  respond  readily  to  her 
voice  and  will  work  easily  on  to  the  glass  or  mem- 


Fio.  59.— Tree  form. 


brane.  At  the  Arts  and  Crafts  Exposition  in  1889, 
Mrs.  Hughes  exhibited  a  number  of  these  beautiful 
pictures,  and  Miss  Barrington  says  of  them  that  in 
these  voice  pictures  the  old  saying  that  "  Colour  is 


232  VOICE  BUILDING. 

quality  "  is  amply  exemplified.  "  Most  of  the  voice 
figures  have  been  sung  into  the  most  ordinary  col- 
ours, but  the  exquisite  perfection  and  finish  of  the 
designs,  and  the  subtile  toning,  shading,  and  grada- 
tion which  the  tones  of  the  voice  give  to  this  ordi- 
nary paste  and  vvater  produce  an  exquisite  quality 
and  beauty  of  colour  which  might  be  a  lesson  to  any 
painter."  The  variations  in  colour  and  perfection 
in  detail  of  these  voice  pictures  it  seems  to  us  are 
but  the  pictorial  expression  of  the  richness  of  any 
given  voice  in  overtones.  The  more  perfect  the 
production  of  the  notes  and  the  richer  the  voice  in 
overtones,  the  more  beautiful  and  delicate  the  pic- 
ture. We  are  under  a  great  debt  of  gratitude  to 
Mrs.  Hughes  for  having  shown  us  that  the  human 
voice  may  be  a  source  of  delight  even  to  those  whom 
we  know  as  tone  deaf,  not  to  mention  the  scientific 
interest  which  these  beautiful  pictures  possess. 


CHAPTER    X. 

THE   TOXOGRAPH. 

IT  was  the  consideration  of  these  flower  forms 
that  led  to  the  experiments  which  were  undertaken 
to  demonstrate  that  correct  tone  production  could 
be  recorded  upon  a  membranous  disc  in  geometric 
figures.  In  1896  the  author  devised  a  metal  tube 
with  a  bell-shaped  cup  at  the  end  at  right  angles  to 
the  tube,  over  the  rim  of  which  was  stretched  a  thin 
rubber  membrane,  the  so-called  rubber  dam  of  the 
dentist.  By  sprinkling  a  certain  mixture  of  emery 
and  common  salt  upon  the  disc  and  singing  a  tone 
into  the  open  end  of  the  tube,  it  was  found  that 
every  note  of  the  octave  produced  a  beautiful  and 
intricate  geometric  form,  the  lines  of  which  repre- 
sented the  fundamental  note  and  the  overtones  of 
the  voice.  The  figure  produced  by  any  note  of  like 
pitch  with  a  given  horn,  which  was  called  the  tono- 
graph,  was  the  same  for  every  voice,  but  the  lines 
which  composed  the  figure  varied  in  strength,  as  the 
particular  overtone  which  produced  that  line  was 

233 


234 


VOICE   BUILDING. 


accentuated  or  feeble.    With  this  tonograph,  as  with 
Koenig's  apparatus,  it  may  be  proved  that  the  tim- 


FIG.  60.— c"  on  the  staff. 


FIG.  61.— c"f  above  the  staff,  sung 
by  a  coloratura  soprano. 


FIG.  62.— c"'  above  the  staff,  sung 
by  a  dramatic  soprano. 


FIG.  63.— 0"  on  the  staff. 


bre  of  various  voices  is  dependent  upon  the  vary- 
ing intensity  of  the  overtones  which  accompany  the 
fundamental  tone.  The  construction  of  the  tono- 


THE  TONOGRAPH. 


235 


FIG.  64.— /'  above  the  stafi.  FIG.  65.— d"'  above  the  stafll 


FIG.  66.— b'. 


FIG.  67.— a'  on  the  staff. 


FIG.  68.— a"  above  the  stafl.  FIG.  69.-/"fl  on  the  stall. 


236 


VOICE  BUILDING. 


graph  and  the  geometric  octave  was  described  in  the 
Scientific  American  of  May  29,  1897.     Several  pic- 


Fio.  70. — Miss  Geraldinc  Farrar  singing  in  the  bell-jar  tonograph. 

tures  are  introduced  to  show  the  similarity  of  the 
voice  figures  to  the  sand  forms  which  have  been 
shown  in  Chladni's  experiments  in  a  previous  chapter. 


THE  TONOGRAPH.  237 

Any  one  may  construct  the  instrument,  as  shown 
in  the  illustration.    A  glass  bell  jar  open  at  the  bot- 


Fio.  71.— Sig.  Caruso  singing  in  the  tonograph. 

torn  may  be  used,  and  the  tones  may  be  sung 
through  a  flexible  tube,  as  in  the  illustration,  or  a 
tin  horn  may  be  made  after  the  model  of  the  other 


238  -YQIGS  BUILDING. 

picture  (Figs.  70  and  71);  In  none  of :  these  nega- 
tives has  there  been  any  retouching  whatsoever,  and 
the  reproductions  show  the  figures  exactly  as  they 
appear  on  the  membranous  disc.  It  may  be  assumed 
that  some  day  a  more  perfect  instrument  may  be 
constructed  on  these  lines  by  which  correct  voice 
production  may  be  materially  assisted. 


INDEX. 


Albani,  110. 
Anatomy  of  chest,  48. 

of  larynx,  15. 
Arytenoid  cartilages,  19. 
Ashforth,    Madam,    176,    182, 

183,  184. 

Attack    of    tone,     explosive, 
148. 

French,  147. 

proper  method  of,  165. 
Axioms  of  singing,  139. 

Harrington,  Isabelle,  225. 

Bataille,  112. 

Behnke,  Emil,  111. 

Bispham,  164. 

Bonci,  164. 

Bonheur,  61. 

Breath,    management   of,    53, 

166. 

Breathing,  artistic,  cultivation 
of,  54. 

control  of  expiration  in,  67. 

correct,  importance  of,  60. 

fixed  high-chest  method  of, 
66. 

methods  of,  56,  57. 
Browne-Lennox,  61,  111. 


Calve,  209. 
Campanini,  59. 
Cartilages  of  epiglottis,  20. 

Santorini,  19. 

Wrisberg,  20. 
Cartilages  of  larynx,  17. 

arytenoid,  19. 

cricoid,  18. 

thyroid,  17. 
Caruso,  163,  164. 
Chater,  114,  117. 
Chest,  anatomy  of,  48. 
Chest  register,  132. 
Chladni,  211. 

sonorous    vibrations    made 

visible  by,  211. 
Colorature,  194. 

audible,  195. 

inaudible,  194. 
Compass  of  the  human  voice, 

168. 
Consonants,  140. 

dental,   labial,   and  lingual, 

141. 
Cords,  vocal,  20. 

false,  22. 
Costal  respiration,  60. 

inferior  and  superior,  63. 


239 


240 


VOICE  BUILDING. 


Coupdeglotte,  35, 138, 142, 147, 

159. 
Crescendo    and    decrescendo, 

200,  202. 
Cricoid  group  of  muscles,  24, 

29,  33. 

Dalmores,  163. 

Deep  breathing  exercises,  213. 
Desvernine,  26. 
Diaphragm,  49. 
action  of,  49. 
Duff t,  Carl,  162. 

Eames,  Emma,  69,  187,  209. 

Echo,  82. 

Eidophone,  223. 

Epiglottis,  20. 

Errani,  163. 

Expanding  the  chest,  exercises 

for,  212. 

Expiration,  47,  51,  52. 
control  of,  67. 

Falsetto,  111. 

female,  117. 

theory    of    marginal    vibra- 
tion, 113. 

theory  of  Martels,  114. 
Farrar,  Geraldine,  163. 
Faure,  59. 
Fremstad,  163. 
French  attack  (see  Attack). 

Gadski,  163. 

Garcia,     Manuel,     111,     185, 

186. 

Gilibert,  164. 
Glottis,  20. 


Gogorza,  de,  162. 
Gouguenheim,  112. 

Hamonie,  61. 
Harmonics,  94. 

of  strings,  94. 

of  voices,  162. 

Harris,  Victor,  188,  189,  190. 
Helmholtz,  95. 
Heyeh,  Clara,  59. 
Homer,  Madam,  163. 
Hooper,   25,    28,   34,    37,    40, 
42. 

Imbert,  128,  130. 

Increasing  respiratory  capac- 
ity, exercises  for,  212. 

Injured  cords,  exercises  for  re- 
storing, 154. 

Inspiration,  47,  49,  51. 

Italian  school  of  singing,  57, 
59. 

Jelenffy,  26,  28. 
Joal,  59,  61,  64. 

Klangfarbe,  91. 

Koch,  112. 

Konig,  103. 

Konig  flames,  104,  106,  108. 

Koschlakoff,  32,  127,  131,  135. 

Laget,  61. 

Lamperti,  59. 

Lankow,  Madam,  174,  175, 
176,  177,  178,  179,  180, 
181. 

Larynx,  anatomy  and  physi- 
ology of,  15, 


INDEX. 


241 


Larynx,  cartilages  of,  17. 

muscles  of,  24. 

position  of,  in  singing,  117. 

ventricles  of,  22. 
Legato,  194. 
Lehfeldt,  113. 
Lehman,  Lili,  163. 
Lermoyez,  112. 
L  ud  wig,  41. 

Mackenzie,  Sir  Morell,  42,  43, 

54,  68,  75,  76,  110,  112. 
Mancini,  109. 

Mandl,  58,  59,  60,  62,  112. 
Marches!,    Madam,    190,    191, 

192. 
"Marriage    of    the    registers," 

162. 

Martels,  112,  114. 
Martin,  R.,  162. 
Massini,  59. 

Maurel,  Victor,  164,  209. 
May,  53. 

Melba,  69,  163,  207,  209. 
Melde,  200. 
Mengozzi,  58. 
Merkel,  28. 
Method  of  breathing,  56,  57. 

fixed  high-chest,  66. 
Mills,  Dr.  Wesley,  111,  119. 
Moore,  Laura,  171. 
Moura,  26. 

Muscle,  superior  constrictor,  71. 
Muscles  of  diaphragm,  49. 
Muscles  of  forced  expiration 

52. 

Muscles  of  inspiration,  50. 
Muscles  of  larynx,  24. 
arytenoid,  32. 


Muscles  of  larynx,  crico-aryte- 
noid,  lateral,  29. 

crico-arytenoid,  post.,  33. 

crico-thyroid.  24. 

sterno-thyroid,  34. 

thyro-arytenoid,  29. 

thyro-hyoid,  34. 
Music,  origin  of,  1. 

Neuman,  20,  25,  37,  38,  40. 
Nilsson,  Christine,  110. 
Nodal  lines  in  vocal  cords,  127. 

on  vibrating  membranes,  127. 
Nodal  points  on  cords,  123. 
Nodules  of  attrition,  138. 

double,  145. 

early  stages  of,  144. 

single,  145. 
Nordica,  69,  209. 
Nose,  function  of,  161. 
Nose  breathing,  73. 

Obin,  59. 

Oertel,  118,  127,  131,  135,  136. 

Onodi,  59. 

Organ  pipes,  87. 

Overtones,  67,  95. 

demonstration  of,  99. 

picture  of  flames  influenced 
by,  108. 

Partials,  95. 
Patti,  69,  163. 
Physiology  of  chest,  48. 

of  larynx,  15. 
Pitch,  91. 
increase  and  decrease  of,  in 

membranes,  130. 
influence  of  thyro-arytenoid 
muscles  on,  130. 


242 


VOICE  BUILDING. 


Plan gon,  Pol,  69,  162.  209. 
Pollard,  Miss,  64. 

Quality  of  tone,  94, 

Randegger,  185,  186. 
Registers,  chest,  132. 

definition  of,  109,  115. 

production  of  tone  in,  134. 

upper,  133. 
Relaxed  throat,  exercises  for 

203. 

Renaud,  163,  164. 
Respiration,  46. 

diaphragmatic,  63. 

fixed  high-chest,  66. 

inferior  costal,  63. 

of  singers,  66. 

superior  costal,  60. 

types  of,  52. 

Resonance,  secondary,  66. 
Resonators,  Helmholtz,  96. 

vocal,  70. 
Reszke,  Jean  de,  59,  68,  160, 

162,  163,  209. 
Rudersdorf,  Madam,  159. 

Sammarco,  163. 
Savart's  bell,  98. 
Schumann-Heink,  163. 
Scotti,  163. 

Seiler,  Madam,  111,  112. 
Sembrich,  163. 
Simanowski,  127,  135. 
Sinus,  sphenoidal,  frontal,  max- 
illary, 73. 
Siren,  92. 

Soft  palate,  education  of,  76. 
Sound,  in  organ  pipes,  87. 
musical,  89,  96. 


Sound,    propagation    of,    78, 
90. 

reflected,  80. 

vibrations  in  liquid  and 
gaseous  bodies  producing, 
86. 

visible,  200. 

waves  of,  78. 
Staccato,  193,  194,  195,  196. 

pure,  193. 

semi,  193,  195. 
Staccato  and  legato,  197. 
Stracciari,  161. 
Stroboscope,  118,  122. 
Swell  notes,  200. 

Tamagno,  161. 
Tetrazzini,  161. 
Timbre,  94. 
Tone,  breathy,  146. 

effect  of  rapidity  and  ampli- 
tude of  vibrations  on,  90. 

focus  of,  149,  154. 

production  of,  in  larynx, 
116. 

simple  and  compound,  82. 
Tone  placing,  137,  154. 
Tone  production  in  chest  reg- 
ister, 134. 

in  upper  register,  134. 
Tonograph,  233. 
Thoracic  cavity,  66. 
Thorax,  49. 
Thyro-arytenoid  muscles,  29. 

effect  on  pitch  of,  130. 
Thyroid,  17. 
^ongue,  rigidity  of,  75. 
^onsils,  72. 
Tyndall,  81,  91,  93,  222. 


INDEX. 


243 


Vacher,  112. 
Valeria,  110. 
Ventricles  of  larynx,  22. 
Ventricular  bands,  22,  70. 
Vibrations,   augmentation   of, 

130. 

compound,  82. 
influence   of   angle   of   inci- 
dence on,  131. 
of  membranes,  125. 
alternate,  127,  135. 
applied  to  larynx,  130. 
longitudinal,  126. 
segmental,  128,  129. 
synchronous,  127. 
transverse,  126. 
of  plates,  211. 
of  rods,  217. 
of  vocal  cords,  131. 

in     chest     register,     132, 

133. 

in  upper  register,  134. 
simple,  82. 
sympathetic,  96,  97. 
Vibrato,  159,  161. 
Vibrato  and  tremolo,  161. 
Vocal  cords,  20. 


Vocal  cords,  false,  22. 

movements    of,    in    strobe- 
scope,  121,  132. 
nodal  lines  in,  135,  136. 
overstrained,  symptoms  of, 

138. 

treatment  of,  146,  154. 
photographs  of,  117. 
position  of,   in  singing,   60, 

117. 

theory  of  action  of  thyro- 
arytenoid  muscle  on  the 
pitch  of,  130. 
Voice  building,  165. 
Voice  figures,  217. 
Voice  pictures,  224. 
Vowels,  75,  141,  142,  147. 
flames  influenced  by,  105. 
influence  of,  on  overtones,  75. 
pitch  of,  75. 

Watts-Hughes,  Mrs.,  223,  225. 
Weber,  Gottfried,  68. 
Wheatstone,  Sir  Charles,  217, 

220. 

Wind  instruments,  88. 
Wing,  Dr.,  63. 


(10) 


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